


Just Another Cover

by CALLEN37



Category: NCIS: Los Angeles
Genre: Assassins & Hitmen, Drama & Romance, F/M, Family Secrets, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-08
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-02-12 08:31:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 37,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2102592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CALLEN37/pseuds/CALLEN37
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU story. Callen is a cover, just another cover...for years he's been working as an assassin, he keeps his other life and his wife hidden from the team, but how did this start and how will the team cope when Hetty's black book is compromised and Callen and his father fight to get it. Will Callen's double life come out and just who has been hiding him for so long? WIP.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N ok I know I have other WIP's going on and they will ALL be finished as I never like to leave a story undone. However, this one is special...this is my 100th Story. It is not slash but it is AU. a what if...if you like.
> 
> I would like to thank and shower with praise my amazing beta SnoopGirlZ who has read this multiple times as we hash it out and turn it into something I am happy to write and she is happy to read without having the need to call the cops and have Callen (Either one of us.) arrested.
> 
> Disclaimer, I own nothing of worth, anything you recognize belongs to Shane Brennan and I promise to be...ok so I'll give his characters back in one piece...eventually.

September 2000, Colombia

She sat in a small café, having given her group the slip. She knew it wasn't the greatest idea, but he had sounded nice and she had been talking to him on the Internet for weeks. Her best friend had covered for her telling her teacher that she'd come down with a stomach bug, probably from drinking the water. Her teacher had checked on her and told her to stay in bed and that she'd check on her later. Nell had waited as the woman called her social worker to inform her of the illness and Nell had heard the social worker's disdain at being bothered. Miss Mitchell had sighed as she closed the phone and had promised to check on her as soon as the group got back. Nell had just looked away.

She had been in care for two years and was used to being ignored by her social workers. The lack of care from the CPS worker upset her for a moment until she damped down the feelings and looked over at the wall, unwilling to make eye contact for fear she would convey her feelings of inadequacy and worthlessness. She listened as the door locked, wiped away a stray tear that had escaped and then jumped out of bed. She grabbed her clothes, got dressed, applied some make-up, fetched her laptop and left for the nearby Internet café. She was meeting Tomas Sanchez, the fifteen-year-old boy from Cartagena, whom she had been talking too online for a few months. Oh she knew that it might be dangerous, but she had told her friend where she would be and who she was meeting. Therefore, as far as fifteen-year-old Nell Jones was concerned, she had covered herself and was safe. Enough.

So there she sat, for four hours - alone. She set up her laptop and contacted Tomas and twice he said he was on his way, so she waited. He sent her a message an hour into her wait asking her what she was wearing, so she told him and he said he would be there soon. Then the messages stopped.

Finally, she gave up waiting, packed her bag to leave, feeling hurt, and embarrassed. She grabbed her bag and walked out of the café towards her hotel.

"Nell?" A voice called from an alley that she had just walked past.

Nell turned as a large hand was wrapped around her mouth and she was pulled into a large, dirty white van. Her eyes grew wide and fearful as a well dressed man looked her up and down.

"Nell Jones…Tomas sent me…well sort of, I am…Tomas…actually, my real name is Miguel Sanchez and you have been…interesting to me." He smiled and Nell squirmed in the arms of the thug holding her.

She tried to scream as a needle pierced her neck and her world went black.

August 2005.

He moved with a stealth that belied his years, his training was coming into play. He slipped away from his team as they conducted random raids on a Colombian drug lord that they had been ordered to take out. He had another agenda, besides he had already decided that this would be his last job for the CIA, he was thinking of moving on.

Since he was fifteen years old and had found his father, Gregori Nikitovitch Reznikov had been a mercenary for hire. For safety's sake, he had kept the alias he had grown up with. Now he was known within the DEA, FBI and now the CIA as G. Callen. It was the perfect alias as G. Callen had no idea about his past. It was a clean slate and after the initial question, "What does the G stand for?" they, for the most part left him alone. Jobs in the Federal Agencies gave him access to weapons and training that he needed. Although his father had taught him a lot over the years, there had been advantages to having a real badge and gun to gain access to any place where if he'd gone in as himself, he'd have been asked a lot of questions.

No, this was good.

He walked around the rear of the compound, remembering all of the weaknesses his father had pointed out when they had walked through the job. At barely thirty-five years old, G. Callen had already made a name for himself as a ghost.

Miguel Sanchez walked out of the room smiling at the sound of sobbing within.

Silly Chica, she should have thought of the consequences before she cheated me out of a million dollars.

He had hired her to break into the CIA computers to find out about an operation he had heard they were planning to run which would ruin his empire.

When his men spotted the fifteen-year old American girl, five years ago while she was on a school trip to Cartagena, and saw her capabilities, they kidnapped her and brought her to him.

He had done his homework on her. She was in foster care, her parents having abandoned her years ago. He had been surprised that after he had taken her, the school just assumed she had run away. Although he had paid the local police enough so had they asked, they would not have looked. He glanced back as the red headed girl looked at him with large hazel eyes. Maybe he could use her after all. He smiled as he closed the door, thinking of all the things he could do to her to work off the million-dollar debt.

It was the last thought he would ever have.

Seconds later a bullet slammed through his brain and he sunk to the floor.

Callen walked in and checked the body, bending carefully due to the small wound in his side he had picked up a few moments earlier taking out one of Sanchez's bodyguards. Smiling as he took a picture for proof, he then hid the body in a closet.

He won't be discovered for a few hours, he thought as he closed the door.

Suddenly he heard a noise. Crying?

He threw his rifle over his shoulder and opened the door.

"Help me!" a female voice called out.

Callen looked over at her silently.

"Please…you speak English?" she asked.

Callen nodded as he walked over and undid her handcuffs. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Nell…Nell Jones," she said wiping her eyes. "Can you get me out of here?" she asked.

He should have said no and just left her, but he couldn't. Something compelled him to take her with him.

"Come on Nell," he said with a smirk.

Her heart fluttered and she followed him.

Halfway down the corridor all hell broke loose. The CIA raid, which had been planned for later that night, started early.

"Shit!" Callen swore. Grabbing Nell's hand, they ran to his escape route.

He knew he could not go back with his team; he had planned on moving on anyway. He could say he was captured and had escaped; it had worked before, however, there was no way he could explain being there early and he certainly didn't want to explain the girl now accompanying him. Leaving her wasn't an option so through the jungle they ran, Nell focused on keeping close to the mysterious (and handsome) man who had saved her. Several hours later, her legs burning, they finally stopped in front of an oddly shaped tree where the man reached behind it and retrieved a black bag.

"Who are you?" she asked.

Callen laughed to himself. They had been running for hours and only now did she ask that question. He smiled and she sat down heavily.

"Don't …" he said crouching beside her. He started rubbing her legs, "You'll get a cramp."

Once he had massaged her legs enough to avoid cramping, he pulled a bottle of water, and what looked like army field rations, with a foreign language label, out of the bag. After taking the greatly appreciated food and water, the young girl thanked him as Callen returned to rubbing her legs.

"Why did Sanchez have you as a prisoner?" he asked.

She looked up at him scared, but she felt she could trust him, "He kidnapped me to hack into the CIA computers."

Callen laughed, "You're a child!" he exclaimed.

She glared at him, "I'm a grown woman, who happened to stop growing at five feet, one inch. And I'll have you know that I did hack into the computers." She hesitated a moment before continuing, the nightmares of what happened after that crawling back to the forefront of her mind. "He didn't like what I found and in traditional Drug Lord ways; he beat me until I was barely conscious. " She took a deep breath, "He threatened to …" Nell just could not verbalize her thoughts and the tears drained from her eyes, drops falling from her cheeks onto her shirt.

"Hey Nell, its ok," Callen said as he instinctively drew the young woman close to him.

Nell tensed for a second.

Callen stepped back and held up his hands in defense at her outburst and her reaction, "Ok…ok I'm sorry," he said and stopped as Nell burst into tears.

Nell looked away, "I'm ok…it's just…It's been a long time since someone was nice to me…I mean…" she sighed and stood up moving away from him. "I've been there with him a long time."

"How long?" Callen asked.

Nell gave a small sob and turned back to face him, "Five years I think," she told him.

"And no one's been looking for you?" he asked, The CIA team had been sent in to extract another agent, a woman called Monique, but no one had said about any other American women at the compound.

"Why would they?" Nell sighed.

"Surely you have someone who cares, family, a boyfriend…husband?"

Nell laughed "I was a kid when I was taken, so no… no boyfriend or husband and I have no family." Her face fell and she turned to walk past him, but tripped on a tree root and fell in his direction.

He caught her quickly and instinctively pulled her to him, amazed at how well her body fit against his, and at the emotional impact, the closeness was having on him. He never got close to anyone, but she seemed to be slipping past all his defenses.

"Are you ok?" Callen asked as he moved her a respectable distance from himself.

She tried standing but winced as her ankle hurt. He gently lowered her to sit with her back to a tree, got the first aid kit out of the pack he had with him, bandaged her ankle up and handed her two painkillers. A few minutes later, exhausted, Nell found herself drifting off to a peaceful sleep. She could not remember the last time that happened but she knew exactly why it had this time. It was due to the compassionate, blue-eyed man who had rescued her and for the first time in months, she felt safe closing her eyes for more than a few seconds.

Callen watched as the girl slept. He moved so her head was in his lap and off the small cut that was starting to throb, and then he gently brushed a few strands of hair off her face.

Without a doubt, she was beautiful. From what she had told him, no one had reported her missing and that fueled the bubbling anger inside him. He had hated it when he was younger and no one had cared about him, until that fateful day when his father finally found him.

Leaning against the tree, Callen closed his eyes and thought back to that day.

He was fifteen years old and in his twenty-eighth foster home, or rather, he had just left his twenty-eighth foster home after his new foster father decided that he would make an example of the new kid by beating him up for not knowing the house rules.

He had had enough; they had moved him from the previous house for the same thing. This time when he called his new social worker to get him out of there, she informed him that he was being too much trouble and he needed to suck it up for a while. Having had enough of people telling him to "behave better", he left. He jumped from the second floor window, down to the ground, picked up his bag, and headed out.

Walking along Venice beach, he spotted a man whom he had seen a few times before, admittedly, he thought that he was just imagining it, but no, he was being watched. The man's brown, but slightly graying hair and bright blue eyes caught his attention.

Callen sat on the bench pretending to sleep and watched him surreptitiously out of the corner of his eye. Twice he noticed people who looked like trouble walking up towards him. Both times the man moved and other people emerged from the shadows and both threats were eliminated.

This man was watching him, and Callen needed to find out why. Callen sat up, slung his bag over his shoulder, and walked past the man into the café he was sitting outside of and disappeared. The man waited and when he realized Callen had given him the slip he walked back to his car...only to find Callen sitting cross-legged on the hood.

"Who are you?" Callen asked.

The man smiled, "My name is Arkady Kolcheck; I am a businessman. Who are you, little waif?" he asked, his Russian accent obvious.

"You should know. You've been following me for months now," Callen replied, as he slid off the hood and then leaned against the car.

Arkady smiled again. The more he had followed him, the more certain he knew who he was. "You are Gregori…are you not?"

Callen shook his head, "Nope, not me…sorry wrong guy," he said with his lips forming a quirky smirk.

Arkady looked intensely at the much younger man. He was sure his Intel was right and he had finally found his son, "What is your name, boy?" he asked.

"Boy'll do, that, or G. Callen…either or is fine."

"And the G…stands for Gregori does it not?" Arkady asked.

Callen shrugged, "Dunno. You know, you ask a lot of questions for a stranger." Callen took two steps closer to the older man, "Who the hell are you?"

Arkady motioned G to a bench and sat down, "I am fairly certain that I'm your father. I have been looking for you for years."

Callen looked at him with scowled face, "My what?" He shook his head, "I don't have a father!"

Arkady gave his son the same smirk he had seen leveled at him moments ago.

"Whether you want one or not, all of us at the point of conception have one."

Callen wasn't amused with the stranger's logic and in classic G. Callen style he shrugged his shoulders, "So my name is Gregori Kolcheck?"

Arkady sighed, "So like your mother, she used to pick puzzles apart too. He stopped and checked for people listening, "My birth name is Nikita Alexsandr Reznikov. Your mother's name was Clara Callen."

"Okay," Callen said, the disbelieving tone permeating his voice, "So where have you been, and why did you abandon me? Is my mother with you?"

"Your mother was killed while on an assignment in Romania. She worked for the government, you were lost in the commotion, and it has taken me all this time to find you."

Having spent the last ten years in the system, Callen was able to realize he was telling the truth. Callen watched the man produce a photo of a woman, who looked a lot like him, holding a small boy with piercing blue eyes. That was him in the photo and all of this was true.

"Are you going to leave me again?" he asked as a hint of fear crept into his voice and he bit his lip at allowing that small slip.

Arkady shook his head, "There is much you need to know and you will have to go back into the system. I will explain why later, but you need to be protected."

Callen glared at him, "So you're sending me back?" He kept his face a neutral mask; he knew it was too good to be true.

"Not right away, we have much to discuss first. You will come home with me for now son." Arkady walked to his car and opened the door.

Callen followed, and over the next few weeks, while he was missing from social services, he learned about his parents, himself, and his still missing older sister.

He was surprised to find out that his father had been a Major in the KGB until he met Clara Callen, and that he also had a side job.

Nikita Alexsandr Reznikov had been trained from birth to be an assassin.

Clara had been sent to kill him and he her…until they met. It was explosive, they had fallen for each other, and within six months of meeting, Clara was pregnant with Gregori's older sister Amelia. They ran away and hid out in the Urals, taking small jobs on the side while working as assassins for hire. Clara had been tasked to take out the head of the Comescu family. She had taken Gregori with her; he had had an ear infection and he could not be left at home. A child playing on the beach with his mother made a perfect cover. Unfortunately, the Comescu's recognized her.

Clara, upon hearing chatter about there being a Callen in the area realized that she may have been compromised, but she knew she had to carry out her assignment. However, she knew she could not get out of Romania by herself and therefore had called her old handler, Hetty Lange. She lied, told the woman she had been held prisoner and that she had children with her, and would be waiting on a nearby beach for them to extract her. Hopefully she would fulfill her assignment and they would get her and the children out safely and then Nikita could join them in America for a new life filled with opportunities.

The Comescu's had killed her because the woman responsible for her rescue could not be bothered to save her. Callen got angry at the new-found information and Arkady held his son as he cried with outrage at how he lost his mother. Arkady, honest with him all the way, taught him who he was, and what he was capable of doing. Armed with knowledge and skills, Callen would avenge his mother's death.

Callen looked down at the sleeping girl as he wrapped his arms gently around her to keep her warm. "I'll keep you safe," he vowed quietly to himself.

Nell murmured and snuggled into his hold still fast asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Nell awoke to warm arms around her, and for a second she jerked in fear until she heard his voice.

"It's ok, Nell. It's Greg, you're ok," he said softly.

She looked up at him, "Where are we…are they coming?" she asked.

Callen shook his head, "It's dawn, and I haven't heard them for a few hours. There is a town about five miles from here. We could slip in before anyone wakes up, then we need to figure out how to get you across the border."

He had been thinking about it for hours; his exit route had been planned until he met up with her. Go back, rejoin the group in the firefight and get out. Only he could not do that with her in tow.

He looked downat the fear in her hazel eyes, "You're not going to leave me?" she asked.

"Never!" he exclaimed surprising himself with his answer.

She looked up at him, a small smile crossing her face.

Not even thinking, he dropped a small kiss on her red lips. She pulled him in and kissed him fiercely, "Thank you," she said her eyes bright and focused on his face.

Callen smiled, "There's a stream just that way. Do you want to freshen up?" he asked.

Nell nodded and he walked her to the stream and turned his back. As she cleaned up, he checked his pack for supplies.

* * *

He looked through his backpack. They had Army surplus Russian MRE's, one spare clip left with only half the bullets in it for his gun, his passport and one for the woman he had been supposed to meet in 3 days time. But he wasn't worried as Monique, the woman whom the CIA had been due to extract from Sanchez' compound would soon be on her way home with another member of the team.

G knew that for killing Sanchez, he would be well paid by the people who did not want him to spill his secrets to the CIA. Therefore, money was not an issue for the future. Although he had five thousand US Dollars  _on him_ , he could have done with more at the time.

His thoughts kept wandering to the young woman behind him. She looked like a kid, but she told him she was a woman, so maybe she was just short. She definitely kissed like a woman.  _"Stop it!"_ he told himself. He needed to focus.

First things first, he had to get her into town, find them a change of clothes, transportation and the local priest, since it was well known that he would be able to help them get out of town and across the border into the US.

"You nearly ready?" he called without turning around.

Nell pulled her top over her head, "Yep."

He turned and stopped at the sight of her in a cut off T-shirt, jeans and a pair of sneakers.

"Oh I'm going to hell!" Callen said under his breath. He had no idea why but he was rapidly falling for this girl. "We need to get going, we might be able to get a room in town, and we need to see a priest."

"Why?" Nell asked.

"We need to forge you some papers, so we can get you back to the US."

"Okay," she said, pulling her long, red hair up into a ponytail.

* * *

The sun was just breaking over the houses as they walked into town; the adobe walls were glinting in the sun.

Callen pointed to the church in the center of town. "Father Moreno is our contact," he said quietly, even though there was no one around.

They checked out the road as they crossed, making certain that no one saw them. Callen tapped on the door in the rear of the church.

"Gregori!" Frank Moreno said as he opened the door, "It has been a long time."

The younger looking, well-worn man with the young, redheaded woman tucked closed to him, did not go unnoticed by the priest. "Come in … quickly." After he closed the door, a latch near the top was put in place. "Who is this?" he asked, turning to face his friend.

"This is Nell and  _we_  need your help," Callen said as he collapsed into a nearby chair with a heavy sigh. His jacket had moved slightly when he sat, bringing to Nell's sight a fresh bloodstain.

"Callen! You're hurt!" she exclaimed and moved to take his jacket off. "I need water and medical supplies," she said to the priest.

"You are the girl Sanchez kidnapped five year ago?" Frank asked looking her up and down. He remembered the description of her from the missing person's bulletin board in the nave of his church; so many young people went missing in Colombia, but a small red headed American girl…she stuck in his mind.

Nell nodded absentmindedly as she looked worriedly over at Callen, "Just get me your first aid kit, please!" she begged as she peeled Callen's blood soaked T-shirt from his body. As Frank walked out she turned to Callen, "How did you get this?" she asked.

"One of Sanchez's bodyguards had a knife. He moved a bit faster than I did," Callen replied. He could not help the thoughts he was thinking as her fingers ghosted over his skin. He smiled lopsidedly as her touched tickled him a bit; also, he thought he would not mind being cut again if this was the result.

"What's so funny?" she asked as she used his t-shirt to wipe up the excess blood.

She kept moving her eyes between his well-defined abdominal muscles and deep blue eyes in an attempt to stay focused on the task of tending to his wound. After two minutes she concurred that the attempt was futile.

He coughed as a wave of pain went through him, "Nothing."

"Sit back and close your eyes, you need to relax," she directed. As she wiped the sweat off his forehead with her hand, he pulled her in closer.

"Don't …" he said with a heavy voice.

Nell looked up, "I'm sorry, but I need to stop the …"

She was cut off, as he pulled her in for another kiss.

She smiled and dropped the balled up t-shirt on the floor as a light cough sounded from behind them, "I have the first aid kit," Frank said, "I also have a small cot over here. Lay him down and you'll be able to help him better." He moved aside a curtain that revealed a door to a small room.

They lifted Callen, took him over to the room and laid him down on the cot. When Nell stood up to get the first aid kit, Callen grabbed her hand.

"Don't leave me Nell," he breathed. With no rhyme or reason, he needed her beside him.  _ **He**_  was the trained assassin and the CIA Agent, but right now, he felt like a small boy again, and could not be without her.

Frank smiled as he passed Nell the kit, "You have been hit by lightning, my friend."

Nell looked up confused and Callen copied her movements, "I was stabbed, not electrocuted," he told his friend.

Frank shook his head, "No, I meant you have both been hit by the true love. I can see it in your eyes that you both need each other, like air."

Callen shook his head. It could not be true. She was obviously a lot younger than he was and could do so much better. Also with the double life he was living, he could not drag her into it. Nell ducked her head shyly and he wanted so much to kiss her again. He winced as she poured alcohol on his wounds and started to stitch him up. He held tightly to the sides of the bed, trying desperately not to pass out. If he did, there would be no one to protect her.

She looked over, saw the pain in his face, and kissed his cheek. "I'm safe Callen. You can sleep now," she reassured him softly.

He smiled and allowed a wave of unconsciousness to overtake him. Nell finished off her stitching and sat back on the chair Frank had passed her.

"You need sleep as well," Frank said. "Do not worry, I will allow you to lock this door, and no one will know you are here. Callen has stayed with me before and he knows I do not tell when he is here."

Nell gave a small smile, but her hand was in Callen's bag holding the gun with the few precious bullets that they had, just in case.

"Sleep Nell. No one will find you here. You are safe."

Nell gave a dry laugh, "No one's looking."

She watched Frank walk through the doorway on his way to prepare for early morning mass. When he was out of her sight, she locked the door.

She sat in the chair, but did not feel safe, so she moved, taking the gun out of the bag and keeping it close for protection and climbed onto the cot, curling up on Callen's uninjured side.

In his sleep he instinctively moved his arm to hold her close, "Nell…" he breathed.

Nell smiled; he was not unconscious, as she had feared. He was just exhausted. Soon she closed her eyes and slept, her hand still tightly clenched around Callen's gun.

* * *

A few hours later Callen woke from one of the best sleeps he had had in a long time. He felt a warm body in his arms. This in itself was not an unusual occurrence, but unlike most times before, Callen wasn't feeling trapped. It felt right and instead of moving and putting space between him and his companion, he pulled her gently closer.

"Nell…Nell…" He said gently moving her shoulder to wake her.

"Greg?" she asked slowly blinking, "Are you all right? Does your wound hurt? Do you need anything?" she asked looking up at him with concern in her still sleepy, hazel eyes.

He smiled at her, "I'm fine." His answer was honest. He felt much better and rested than he had ever been in his life.

She smiled up at him, "I'm glad. Do you need something to drink?" She was thirsty and knew that he had to be feeling the after effects of his injury, no matter what he said.

She stood and walked over to the small table where Frank had left some bottled water. She took two, handing one to Callen as she sat back down. Callen sat up slowly before taking in the entire bottle of water.

"So … Mr. Secret agent guy, what's our next move? We are still in Colombia and need to get back to the US, and in case you hadn't noticed, I don't have a passport and I'm broke," she said a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Callen smiled, "That's why we are here." He walked over to the table, his hand brushing her neck as he moved past her to sit down. "I need you to tell me  _everything_  about Nell Jones."

"Why?" Nell asked worried.

Callen smiled. "Because I have a plan that will get you back to the US, but I need to know more about you."

Nell nodded, "I don't have any family, not anymore. I had a mother and father. I suppose everyone does. A family known as the Jones' adopted me. They were nice and I lived with them until I was fourteen." She sighed and looked out the window.

"What happened?" Callen asked.

"Dad, Mr. Jones, was killed in a car accident. Mom carried on as best she could. Then she met a new guy, I was twelve at the time, he seemed ok, but …" she stopped and wiped away a tear. "Well, he wasn't as nice as he seemed, he would beat me when mom wasn't around. I left the situation. CPS found out and threw me into the system. Let me tell you, it isn't  _ **anything**_  like the brochures." She gave a small grin and Callen nodded in agreement.

"Then I got my first computer, discovered I'm good at it, joined a club at school and just for fun I hacked the CIA," she admitted and Callen only just suppressed a smirk.

"Then I get invited on this 'chance of a lifetime' all expenses paid school trip and that idiot abducts me to do hacking work for him." She sighed.

"And this was how many years ago?" Callen asked.

"I don't know...I'm not sure how long I was there." Nell sighed dropping her head in her hands.

"What year were you taken?" He asked.

Nell thought for a second…. "2000."

"It's 2005…you're 19!" Callen exclaimed.

Nell nodded looking at the floor.

Callen stood up and walked to the window. He was not sure what he was going to do. His plan had hitched on, well, them being hitched. However, she was _ **nineteen**_  … _ **half**_ his age. He could not do this, not now, but … He turned, walked to the door and locked it.

"Nell, I have to ask you something and I need your honest answer." His heart sped up a little as she licked her lips and tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"Okay." she said softly.

"I have an idea. It gets you across the border legally from here. However, once we're in the US, I could be thrown in jail but I promise you'll be safe. I won't … just let me ask you." He was tongue-tied  _and_  crazy. "Nell, do you have any feelings for me at all?"

Nell looked worried. How could she tell him that she had fallen in love with him? The age difference was too great, she was a kid, he was older, and she knew he would laugh at her.

"Nell, please tell me the truth." He was on the verge of begging.

"I love you." She said in a rush of words, "I know I'm too young for you, but I swear, it's not a schoolgirl crush. It is not because you took me away from  _there_ ; it is so much deeper than that. I feel like my soul is whole when I'm in your arms and I feel safer than I ever have in my lifetime." She looked away ashamed and missed the huge smile that graced Callen's face.

Callen stood up and Nell's heart dropped. She closed her eyes waiting for his rebuke, and flinched as his hand touched her shoulder.

"Nell," he said, his voice soft and low, "To get us across the border, to get you somewhere safe, I promise to be a gentleman the whole time, but will you marry me?" He looked at her worried about what she was going to say. "I promise as soon as it's safe, we'll get an annulment."

Nell raised her eyes in a gesture of defiance, "No!" she said resolutely. "I would only marry you if you loved me as much as I love you and I would  _never_  want it annulled." She stood up and walked towards the window waiting for him to come up with a second plan.

Callen grabbed her by the arm and pulled her in for a searing kiss. "I do love you. God help me but I do."

Two hours later they were kissing again, just after Father Moreno pronounced them husband and wife. "I hope to God the two of you know what you are doing," he added as Callen smirked at his friend.

They walked over with the two witnesses, who did not speak English, and signed the marriage certificate.

"Remember my friend, do not hurt her," Frank said in Callen's ear, "Or you will go to the  _Special Hell_."

Callen turned as Nell watched the witnesses sign her wedding certificate. "I love her Frank. With everything I am, I do love her."

Frank smiled. Here it was not uncommon for young brides, even ones of Nell's age, but usually they were scared and terrified. Frank hated those weddings, but the love he could see between Nell and his friend reassured him that despite the age difference they were doing the right thing.

"Greg, are you going to sign this?" Nell held out the pen for her husband. He took the pen from her and then kissed the top of her head.

"Thanks." He signed it with his real name, Gregori Nikitovitch Reznikov.

Nell picked up the pen and signed it, Nell Rose Jones. She looked at him and smiled, "All done."

Callen kissed her again, "Well Mrs. Reznikov, I suggest we go to our room. We will be leaving early tomorrow."

"Mrs. Reznikov, I like the sound of that." Nell smiled.

Callen looked over at her and turned her head to look him in the eye, "That is for when we are alone, for the rest of the time I will be just plain G. Callen. No name, no life and no family."

"And me?" Nell asked worried.

"You will always be my wife whether you are Mrs. Callen or Mrs. Reznikov," he told her honestly.

* * *

Crossing into the US took a month, travelling by road, rail and boat until finally they docked in the Port of Los Angeles.

"Nell, we're here," Callen said shaking his wife gently.

Nell woke up from the bunk the cargo captain had given them and grabbed a sweater to put over the sweats she'd slept in. "I'll just be a minute," she said and walked into the small bathroom with her clothes. She washed quickly and was dressed within moments.

Callen was looking over their passports, Mr. and Mrs. Reznikovs' passports. The first thing he was looking forward to, was introducing her to his father and hoped he loved Nell as much as he did. The cargo boat captain had allowed him a ship to shore call and he had been able to explain to his father that he was alive, married, coming home and to meet them at the port.

Nell had been nervous when she had learned that she was about to meet her father-in-law but she was also looking forward to it, to meeting the great man who had taught her Callen everything he knew.

And now he was indeed her Callen.

Although he had promised to wait until she was legal or at least 21 before they consummated the marriage, he was in every other sense of the word hers. He loved her completely and she knew that she would die for her in an instant.

He had used the time on the boat to inform her of what he did, and why he did it. He had expected her to baulk at the fact that he was, as well as a CIA agent, an assassin for hire. Nevertheless, she loved him and she told him of the skills she had in computers and how she was willing to do anything to help him behind the scenes.

Callen's breath caught in his throat as his wife walked out of the bathroom. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail and small wisps of hair floated down to frame her face. She was wearing a t-shirt and jeans with white tied up sneakers. Her small gold wedding band glinted with the same fire as her hair when she brushed her hand over it in the sunlight, which was streaming through the porthole in the wall.

"Beautiful," he breathed in awe of her.

She smiled as he pulled her to him and kissed her.

"Are you ready?" he asked as he picked up the bags they had with them.

Nell nodded and they walked out to the deck of the ship as it arrived into port.

Callen held his wife securely by the waist as she climbed the railing in order to get a better look at the port and the man standing beside a large black limousine.

"It that him?" Nell asked pointing to the man.

Callen nodded, "That's papa."

Nell waved enthusiastically at her new father-in-law and Callen laughed as Arkady waved back.

"Are you ready to meet my father and start our new life?" He asked.

She turned, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, "I am. I really am." She smiled as it was the happiest she had been in years as they walked down the gangplank and over to the immigration official standing at the bottom with their new passports.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Nell woke up curling into her husband's side in a huge, soft bed. He groaned as he turned and wrapped an arm around her.

"Nell?" he asked softly.

Nell smiled looking up at him. "I'm fine…it's just a bit of an adjustment."

Callen sat up in bed next to her. She moved closer not wanting to be away from his, warmth and he re-wrapped his arm around her.

"You having second thoughts?" he asked his voice calm but his heart started to beat wildly.

She reached her hand up and placed it where she had felt his heart start up.

"No, never my Callen." She sighed. "I just …I worry that this is a dream and that I'll be back there…with… _him_ …" She took a deep breath trying to center herself.

He looked down at her and kissed her deeply. "We are home Nell. You are safe with me. I will  _never_ keep you against your will, but I also never want you to leave."

"Can I keep you?" She grinned as she kissed him back.

"Always." He smiled.

They lay there just happy being together, and Callen looked over at the time.

"We should get up; Papa will want us to join him for breakfast," he said.

Nell nodded, "I put my bag here somewhere," she said.

Callen smiled wider, "I called papa and told him about your situation." He disentangled himself from his wife and walked over to a large closet. "I think he wanted to get you a few things." He opened the door and showed her a wardrobe full of clothes in her sizes and favorite colors.

"Oh my goodness Greg!" she exclaimed, her hands flying up to her face. "You did this for  _me_?" She looked up her eyes wet with tears of happiness.

Callen nodded, "You are my wife…I love you, so this…this little thing, I can do for you."

She turned and jumped into his arms, "Thank you!" She kissed him and ran to the closet, "There are just so many things! I don't know what I should wear first."

Callen handed her a big, fluffy white towel, "Go, get yourself sorted and I'll pick something out for you."

Nell nodded and headed to the bathroom.

* * *

Callen looked at the vast array of things his father had bought for her. He took out his cell phone and dialed a number.

"Sveta?" he asked as he put the phone on speaker and started looking through all the drawers.

" _Da…Gregori, Dyadya Nikita skazal, chto vy byli nazad, ya slyshal, chto vy byli zhenaty, zhe ona nravitsya odezhda_?" she asked.

Callen smiled, " _Da ona lyubit nikh, blagodarya Svety. Ona ne znayet, chto nadet', chto ty predlagayesh' mne vybrat' dlya neye_?"

Svetlana laughed, " _Gregori, Vse, chto vy vybirayete budet prekrasno, s kakikh populyarnykh tvoy otets govorit mne eta zhenshchina lyubit tebya ot vsego serdtsa, ona budet lyubit' kakiye vy vybirayete_."

Callen sighed, " _Vy pravy dvoyurodnyy brat, ya lyublyu yeye slishkom ... normal'no tak gde ty polozhil yeye odezhdu, ne mogu nayti nichego_?"

Sveta laughed and started telling him where everything was. Soon he had an outfit, and shoes for Nell. He looked up as the bathroom door opened and she walked in.

" _Nell nakhoditsya zdes', ya dolzhen idti yavlyayutsya vam na vashem puti, ya nadeyalsya, chto ty pokazat' yey vokrug bunkera segodnya, Nell mozhet byt' mnogo pomoshch'yu_ _,_ " he said as Nell sat on the bed wrapped in the towel and looked at him quizzically.

"I am on my way; tell your bride I very much look forward to meeting her," Sveta said in English knowing Nell was listening. " _Do svidaniya kuzen_."

" _Do Svidaniya_ , Sveta," Callen replied and ended the call.

Nell looked up at him, "Who was that?" she asked.

Callen smiled, "Svetlana, my cousin…She is a tech person, like you. You should both get on well. She picked out the clothes as her taste is better than my father's." He laughed as he handed her the clothes, "I'll go and use the bathroom, let me know when it's ok for me to come out.

He walked in and locked the door leaning against the other side as he imagined her getting dressed on the other side.

"Stop it!" he hissed to himself. He had given his word that husband or not, he would not take advantage of her. He turned the shower onto cold and stepped into the freezing water hoping to quell the current thoughts of his wife that he was having.

As much as he wanted her, he needed to be sure that she truly loved him and that it was not because he had been the one to rescue her. If she had fallen for him because he was her rescuer, then he needed to be able to walk away with a clear mind and know he had not taken advantage of her.

"All clear, I'm dressed now," Nell called as he stepped out of the shower.

"Ok I won't be long," he replied and got dressed himself.

Stepping out of the room, he looked at her and smiled.  _Special Hell,_ he reminded himself, trying not to think about how delicious she looked in her new outfit.

"Breakfast?" he asked and handed her his arm.

She giggled and took it.

* * *

Arkady looked up from his paper as his son and new daughter-in-law walked down from their room.

"Gregori, Nell…Good morning."

" _Dobroye utro papa_." Callen smiled.

"Good morning sir," Nell said.

Arkady tilted his head to the side, " _Sir_? I'm not having that," he said with a sideways grin, "you are my daughter, so Papa will be fine." He smiled and held a chair out for her.

Nell smiled and sat down as Callen passed her the offerings on the table for breakfast. She helped herself to some pancakes and toast. Callen took a bowl and filled it with porridge.

Arkady watched his son eat with a smile, "So…how was 'work'?" he asked.

"Job's done…so is my placement with the CIA. I cut it a little too close there," he admitted.

"So what are you going to do?" Arkady asked.

Callen smiled, "Sveta's on the way. She is going to leave some tracks to make it look like my partners screwed me on this mission. She will clear the way while I am looking at other offers. One in particular from NCIS," he said.

"You think this will be a good move for you?" Arkady asked.

Callen smirked, "It's a badge, gun, good cover to hide behind and most importantly, a paycheck. It's primarily an undercover gig, so access to more aliases, it may come in handy."

Arkady shot a look of fear at Nell. He had met the woman yesterday when his son had arrived back in Los Angeles and had talked to her briefly in the car on the way to his home. He liked her but had no idea how much she knew.

"She knows everything. I told her on the boat coming home, as she is my wife," Callen said placating his father.

Arkady nodded, "And you Nell, what can you do?"

Nell looked panicked, "I…I can't kill people!" she exclaimed.

Callen laughed, "Honey, you don't need to kill people, you are a lot more deadly with a keyboard."

Nell looked shy but smiled slightly nonetheless.

Arkady looked interested. "You are deadly with a keyboard?" he asked.

"I am kinda good with computers…it was why I was taken in the first place, Sanchez made me hack into the CIA." She said modestly.

"You don't get kidnapped by a Drug Lord for being "kinda good" at something." Callen chimed in.

Arkady started in surprise at that comment, "You got in?" he asked.

Callen shot his father a warning look. "No Papa! I won't force her to do anything like  _that_ , " he snapped.

"What?" Nell asked.

"I am sorry, but you know what we do and I assume my son told you  _why_?"

Nell nodded, "I agree with your motives for taking certain jobs as those people  _need_  to be taken out. I would like to help," she said.

Arkady nodded, "My niece Svetlana has a…how you say it?" he asked.

"Bunker, Papa, it's a bunker," Callen supplied. "It's a fully equipped state of the art operations center in the basement. We use it to keep my trail clear, make sure our covers haven't been compromised and obtain all the necessary information to ensure the target is the only casualty. I don't like collateral damage."

Nell nodded, "I know and I would like to be a part of this…if possible."

Arkady smiled and held out his hand. "Welcome to the family business, little Nell."

Nell took his hand and followed him to an elevator where the three of them rode down to the basement and when the doors opened, monitor screens lit up and the bunker flared to life.

"Oh my God! It's awesome!" Nell nearly screamed as she walked around the bunker like a child at Christmas touching each piece of equipment as if it were a precious jewel.

Callen laughed at the sight of his wife's enthusiasm, "I think we've found Nell's niche."

"I can work here?" she asked.

Arkady nodded, "Sveta will show you around and explain how and why we pick the jobs we do. Are you sure you want to be a part of this?

Nell leapt into his arms and hugged him, "YES! YES! YES!" she shouted before clasping a hand over her mouth.

Arkady laughed deep and long, "I am glad you approve and I hope you fit in here."

Nell smiled, "I am family Papa, I know I fit in here."

* * *

It had been two years since Callen brought his bride home. She worked quietly with Sveta behind the scenes, making sure that none of the off the books work that Callen and Arkady did ever came to light.

Callen had had a busy day and let Sam drive him back to the cover motel he was staying at. He had thought about blowing him off and going straight home, but he knew better than to blow his cover. However, with this case, he had not seen Nell for three days and tonight was her twenty-first birthday.

He was not concentrating properly.

He had seen Jethro Gibbs that day, a man who had been his friend for a long time and nearly told him that he knew who his father was and that he was married. However, common sense told him not to say anything. He kept his mouth shut and got on with the case, using the time on the ride home to think about how he planned to romance Nell that evening.

After getting out of the car and saying goodbye to Sam, Callen walked towards the motel.

Not paying attention, he was shocked as Sam's voice called out to warn him. The next thing he felt was five bullets slamming into his chest and the arms of his partner holding him up as he bled out onto the pavement.

* * *

He woke to beeping and a dull light, "I'm alive?" he asked not sure who was in the room with him.

"Yes moy syn you are alive." Arkady's voice came to him out of the gloom.

"Arkady?" Callen asked, his eyes flickering shut with the pain.

Callen lifted his head and his chest burned. His head flopped to the pillow and a small smooth hand brushed across his forehead. He reached up with his hand, "Nell?" he asked.

He opened his eyes again and focused on her tear stained face, "We don't have long Gregori. Papa bribed the nurses to allow us to visit undisturbed for an hour. Your team thinks you have gone for tests," she told him as a tear leaked out.

"Nell…don't cry baby." Callen sighed.

She leaned over and kissed him, "I'm not sad, I'm happy you're alive,"

"I'm sorry honey, this was not how I expected your birthday to go." He smiled despite the pain showing through.

"Shh…my love, we will talk when you are better. Just remember we love you. Papa is making arrangements for you to come home as soon as you can. I have changed your records so it will look as if NCIS is arranging for you to go to a rehab center for a while. Papa has called in a favor; the Secretary of the Navy will be 'sorting out' your accommodations. He will let Director Vance and Lara Macy know that you will be unreachable during your convalescence."

"Sam won't like that," Callen said knowing how overprotective his new partner was.

"Sam won't have a choice. They won't go against Davenport and he owes your father, so he won't let them know where you are."

"And where will I be?" Callen asked Nell and his father, worried about being parted from her again.

"I am sending you to some friends in Cuba," Arkady said. "He is a doctor, a specialist in rehabilitation and therapy. You will both have a relaxing time down there."

"Both?" Callen asked.

Nell reached over and held his hand, "Papa says that we should have a honeymoon."

Callen smiled. Recovering on a beach and spending time with the woman he loved, maybe finally taking the next step in their relationship…that sounded good to him.

* * *

Sam stormed into the office as Lara Macy threw the last of her personal items into a box.

"Where is he?" he demanded.

"Sam?" Macy asked as she turned to look at her agent.

"Callen. I went to the hospital and he is not there. He's not signed out against medical advice this time, he's been transferred."

Macy sighed, "Sam…sit down…" she gestured to the chair in front of her.

Sam sat begrudgingly and looked up at Macy, "Where is he?"

"Director Vance called me; Callen has been transferred to a secret rehab facility by order of SECNAV, until we can determine if he was burned and if the Office of Special Projects has been compromised."

"So he's alone? That can't happen Mace. He needs me to watch his back, I'm his partner." Sam stood up and started pacing again. "You need to do something."

"I can't do anything Sam," Mace said resting her hand on the box on her desk. "Although I have been told the security is excellent and Callen will recover in safety." She said appeasing him.

"Mace?" Sam looked worried.

"There was an agent involved shooting and heads have to roll for it."

"You're being fired?" Sam stopped dead looking at the stress lines on Mace's face.

Mace shook her head, "I'm being laterally moved…to the Marseilles office…" she smiled weakly, "I've always wanted to go to France."

"But I need you to let me investigate this case; I need to find out who shot Callen!" Sam snapped.

"I already have a team on it Mr. Hanna," a voice said from behind him.

Sam whirled around to look at the small woman behind him, "And who are you?"

"Hetty Lange, your new Operations Manager, and until Mr. Callen is fit for a return to duty, you are our team leader."

Sam nodded curtly, sending an "I'm sorry" glance in Macy's direction. "So let me investigate my partner's shooting. But first you need to tell me where he is."

Hetty shook her head, "The SECNAV has a team on it, and he has arranged for Mr. Callen to go to a private rehab center. I am sure that as soon as he is able, Mr. Callen will call you."

Sam was not happy but he nodded nonetheless.

"Now, Mr. Hanna…I would be grateful if you would introduce me to the rest of the team so we can make arrangements for our move to a new building."

"Move?"

"In case it turns out Mr. Callen was compromised we need to err on the side of caution." Hetty swept an eye around the office and waited as Sam walked out of the room. As she left she looked at Macy, "I would never have let him get hurt, and you have my word I will protect him with my life."

Macy smiled weakly again, "Thank You…tell him, I'm sorry," she said as she picked up her box, walked past the woman and headed for the outside elevator.

As she pressed the button, Macy heard Hetty's voice, "Shall we go Mr. Hanna, let me meet the team."

* * *

Callen woke as the plane touched down in Cuba. The nurse went over and undid the straps on the medical bed, "We have arrived in Cuba Mr. Reznikov. An ambulance is waiting to transfer you and your wife to our facility."

"Thank you," Nell said as Callen nodded in agreement.

As the door was opened, the heat overwhelmed Nell and instantly reminded her of Cartagena. She quickly shook that thought out of her head and walked down the stairs to the waiting ambulance as a special lift was brought to the plane to take out Callen's gurney. She took her bags from the hold of the private Jet and climbed into the back.

"Mrs. Reznikov, I am Dr. Tyler, resident doctor at Our Lady of the Angels rehabilitation center."

"Hello." Nell smiled.

"You are not to worry, I have all the latest copies of your husband's charts, and if you both follow our treatment plan we may be able to get you back to America sooner than planned."

"As long as he is well," she said moving to allow the orderlies to lift the gurney into the ambulance.

"Will we be in a private ward?" Nell asked as they set off.

Dr. Tyler smiled. "You have a private villa on the grounds, nothing but the best for Mr. Kolcheck's friends. You have a private pool, which will come in handy for Gregori's rehabilitation. A doctor will be on call 24/7 and a nurse will be in the annex next to the villa. If you need her, there is a call buttons in each of the rooms. Apart from therapy, your time will be your own. There is a self contained kitchenette in the villa, however, there is a onsite caterer who will bring whatever you wish for meals."

Nell looked shocked, "Really?"

Dr. Tyler nodded, "We will make sure your husband is settled and given his medication. The nurse will visit at regular intervals to administer Mr. Reznikov's medication. There are two phones in the building, the black one is for normal calls, they will be added to your bill, and the white phone is to main reception for anything you need."

"Thank you." Nell smiled; she knew that under their care, Callen was going to get well.

* * *

Translations.

Uncle Nikita said you were back, I heard you were married, did she like the clothes?

Yes she loves them, thanks Sveta. She does not know what to wear, what do you suggest I select for her?

Anything you choose will be fine, from what your father tells me this woman loves you from the heart, she will love what you choose.

You are right cousin, I love her too...ok so where did you put her clothes, can't find anything?

Nell's here, I have to go are you on your way, I was hoping you would show her around the bunker today, Nell could be a lot of help.

Goodbye cousin.

 


	4. Chapter 4

They had been there two months; Callen had woken up properly after a few days of being hazy due to the morphine they were pumping into his system. Then it was a strict regime of medication, therapy, diet and exercise before he was finally up and around.

Nell had spent the days on her laptop, swimming and sunbathing. Nell would finish her day at about 6pm; she would go into their room and serve up dinner on a small table by his bed so that they could eat together. As he rested, she would clear away and then sit next to him, reading quietly or just talking as he healed.

They talked for hours, when they were alone, about their hopes and dreams for the future.

* * *

The first day Callen was allowed to be up all day, he did not tell Nell.

She woke early and packed a bag for the small private beach that was attached to their villa. He kissed her goodbye as soon as his physical therapist showed up and waved as she walked down the small winding path to the beach.

"You didn't tell her you are allowed up all day today?" Carla his therapist asked?

Callen smiled, "Nope. I have a surprise planned."

Carla had worked with him for the past two months and knew exactly what he was referring to. "Did you place your order with the kitchens?" she asked as she worked his shoulder muscles.

"I did. Lobster, caviar, champagne, oysters, strawberries and chocolate."

"Sounds like you have all the bases covered."

Callen nodded, "I hope so, I need to tell her…show her how much she means to me."

"I called housekeeping to verify that they will make up your room before she returns."

"Thank you."

"Now that the fun part is over, I want ten laps of that pool Mister," she ordered with a wink.

Callen nodded, grabbed a towel and headed to the pool.

* * *

Nell put her book down and adjusted her sunhat.

Looking at her watch, she noticed it was nearly six o'clock.

Greg had told her he had a long therapy session that day so she had taken a small picnic lunch with her. She was looking forward to a long, soak in a hot bath and was planning to read her favorite story she had downloaded onto her Kindle.

She walked up to the door of the villa and stopped dead. The door was wide open and there was no sound from within.

She pulled the Glock from her bag, thanking God that Callen had taught her to shoot in the few years that they had been married.

It had come in handy a few times when she had tried to get him to consummate the marriage and he had pulled back at the last minute. She had gotten a good few rounds in at the family's private shooting range, dealing with her own frustrations.

"Greg?" she called quietly as she entered the villa. She looked around and everything seemed ok. "Greg…are you here?" she called out again.

She took a few more steps, then stopped, with a smile and a sigh of relief, she placed the gun back inside her beach bag.

The main coffee table was strewn with rose petals and a note saying,  _'come find me'_  with an arrow pointing to the terrace.

She placed her bag on the couch and shut the front door. Kicking off her shoes, she walked out to the terrace following the trail of rose petals he had strewn as a carpet for her to walk on.

* * *

Callen sat at the table, the candles lit and the white linen tablecloth floating down the sides, a silver dinner service and an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne sat at the side, he looked out over the edge of the terrace, watching the sun set into the ocean below him.

"Greg?"

G stood up and walked towards her, "Happy Birthday Nell." He smiled and handed her two boxes.

She opened the biggest box first and looked in awe at the blue moonstone necklace with matching earrings and watch.

"Oh my God Greg, they're beautiful!" She exclaimed as she put the watch on. She handed him the necklace, turned her back to him and waited while he positioned it around her neck and fastened the clasp.

"Greg, it's not my birthday," Nell laughed as he kissed her neck.

"I was kind of busy that day," he said. "This is what I had wanted to do for you, for us, that day."

He held a smaller black box as he moved her to sit at the table. Carefully, he got down on one knee and opened the box to show her an eternity ring. "Nell Reznikov, I love you. I have loved you ever since we met. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife in more than name?" he asked holding the ring out to her.

"I love you too and yes Greg, I will."

He kissed her deeply as he put the ring on her finger to sit with the other two that already resided there.

He looked into her eyes and nearly staggered back at the amount of love he could see in them.

He looked over at the food, not really wanting to eat, but he knew she had to be hungry. He stood up and pulled a silver lid off the lobster, "Are you hungry?" he asked showing her the expertly prepared meal.

She took the lid and dropped it over the meal, "Not for food," she answered before standing up and blowing out the candles.

Grabbing Callen by the shirt, she pulled him towards the bedroom where she stopped suddenly after passing over the threshold. Rose petals strewn about the room reflected the glow of several candles placed around the bedroom.

"You did this for  _me_?" she asked stunned.

"It's not as beautiful as you….but…" Callen stopped as Nell covered his mouth with her own.

Their kiss picked up with fervor as she pulled him closer, stepping backwards until the back of her knees met the edge of the bed where she fell onto the soft mattress, taking him with her. She giggled for a moment until his hands moved and touched her waist as he pulled her further up the bed to a position he was comfortable in. She gasped as he ran his hands across her skin.

He stopped and looked directly in her eyes, "Are you sure?" he asked, still not wanting to assume.

"Yes. I have wanted this for so long." She smiled, her eyes blown with arousal, "I need you," she sighed and kissed him again as his hands gently explored her body.

He slowly kissed his way down her body, paying attention to every inch of her skin as she squirmed beneath him. Nell spread her legs until Callen was snugly positioned between them. She gasped as his hand touched her tenderly and then she mewled as a wave of pleasure she had never experienced before filled her.

Greg smiled at the sounds he was hearing. He lined himself up and entered her slowly, allowing her to adjust to his size, stopping for a moment as he hit her barrier and pushed through kissing her as she gasped in pain. "It's only for a moment love," he whispered, kissing the tears that fell unbidden from her eyes, he knew this from the other women he had been with in his time, but he knew that she was going to be his last.

She nodded as the pain faded, "It's better." She gasped again as he moved within her, "Yes!" she all but screamed as he hit a spot that made her tingle inside, "Again… _please_ …harder."

Callen complied with her wishes by moving harder and faster, building up to his own completion. He had wanted this for so long and now he was finally there. "I…Love…you!" He grunted as he finished within her, listening with satisfaction as she came along with him.

"I love you Greg," she sobbed as the tremors flooded through her.

He kissed her and held her in his arms.

"Finally," Nell sighed, "I thought we'd  _never_  do this."

"I wanted to be sure. I love you so much. I wanted  _you_  to be sure you truly loved me and know that I wouldn't  _ever_ hurt you."

Nell looked at him quizzically, "Hurt me?"

Greg smiled, "Because I'm older…." He stopped as she kissed him again.

"You are perfect for me; I'll never want anyone else."

They lay curled up together for a few hours until hunger got the better of them. Callen brought the food inside and they ate lying in bed feeding each other. When their hunger subsided, they made love until dawn.

* * *

Another two months of healing, making love, long walks on the beach and general recovery happened, until the day Greg's doctor signed him off as fit to go home.

As he stood up to go, Nell pulled him aside, "Can I have a word with you doctor?" she asked.

Dr. Tyler took Nell to the corner of the room as Callen looked on worriedly.

"I've been feeling a bit unwell lately. I was wondering if maybe I've caught a local bug?"

Dr. Tyler motioned her to the couch, "May I?" he asked.

She nodded and he started feeling her stomach, "Does it hurt here?...Here?...Here?" he asked tapping each time he said here.

He took out a stethoscope and listened to her stomach, "Can I ask when your last menstruation was?"

Nell stopped, she hadn't thought about it… "About two months after Greg's accident."

Callen smiled as he figured out what was wrong with her before she did.

Dr. Tyler sat back, "I believe this is only a formality but if you wouldn't mind." He reached into his bag and handed her a pot.

"You want me to pee in  _this_?" Nell asked.

Both Callen and Dr. Tyler nodded.

"Ok." She walked to the bathroom and closed the door.

"Do you really think she could be?" Callen asked with a grin.

"I think so. If the test comes back positive, I would like to do an ultrasound. I just need to make sure everything is okay and that it's safe for your wife to fly."

"Is there anything else we can do?" Callen asked.

"Let me do the test to find out." Dr. Tyler grinned.

Nell walked out holding the little pot in her hands, "So do you think it's an infection?" She asked handing the pot to him.

"In some ways yes." The doctor grinned taking a stick from his bag. He put it in the pot and smiled at the results, "Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Reznikov, you are expecting."

Nell coughed in shock, "We're  _what_?"

"We're having a baby honey." Callen kissed her and she smiled slightly as a tear slipped out.

"I'm  _pregnant_?" she asked still in shock.

Callen nodded.

"I would like you to go to the main clinic this afternoon. Before you fly home I need to make sure the baby is alright and I can do a dating scan for you," Dr. Tyler said.

"We'll be…." Callen stopped as Nell covered her mouth and ran for the bathroom, "We'll be there Doc." He laughed shaking the man's hand. "Thank you."

* * *

Callen sat on the couch as Nell was in the bathroom and looked at his cell phone. He had several missed messages from Sam. He wanted to call him and tell him he was going to be a father. Sam was his partner, and outside of his family, the nearest thing he had to a friend. He flipped the phone open and dialed Sam's number.

"Sam?" he said as the phone was answered.

"G? My God man, where are you?" he asked.

"I am still at the rehab center. I should be home in a few days. I'll let you know where I'm living as soon as I find a place."

"Is the place ok? Are they treating you well?" Sam asked the concern in his voice palpable.

"It's wonderful. SECNAV really came through on this one. The weather is hot and the women are beautiful." He laughed as Nell walked out of the bathroom, the edges of her hair wet where she had washed her face.

She looked at him as if to ask him who he was talking too.

He smiled and mouthed 'Sam' as she sat next to him snuggling into his arm.

"How is everybody?" he asked.

He sat in stunned silence as Sam filled him in on Macy's departure and the move of the operations center. He also told him about the new operations manager, a small, but scary woman…Hetty Lange.

Callen's eyes flashed at the name, but his voice remained steady. "Has she said to you when she is expecting me back?"

"In two months I think," Sam replied.

Callen smiled, "I'll be back in one, I still need to rest up a bit when I get back."

Sam laughed, "Still stubborn then. Just let me know where and when and I'll pick you up partner," he promised.

"Thanks, I gotta go, there's a sweet red-head that wants to get her hands on me," he said truthfully.

"You be nice to those nurses G," Sam told him and hung up.

"You told him about us?" Nell asked her face clouding over.

Never wanting to see her sad, Callen kissed the look from her face, "No, he thinks you're a nurse. Want to not make a liar out of me nurse?"

Nell laughed and stood up, flattening down her soft white dress, "Bend over Mr. Reznikov, and I'll take your temperature."

Callen shot out of the chair and pulled her to the bedroom. "We could, or we could go over how we made this baby again," he teased as he pulled her in the room and closed the door.

* * *

Later that afternoon saw Nell and Callen sitting in Dr. Tyler's office as he pulled up Nell's top and squirted the cold gel on her stomach. He took the wand and gently rolled it over her abdomen as the picture became clearer. Within seconds, the sound of a heartbeat filled the room.

Nell relaxed and Callen beamed, "That's our baby Nell," he whispered in awe.

Nell nodded and looked at the sonogram, "Is it…ok?" she asked.

Dr Tyler looked carefully, "Everything looks fine. I would say this baby is about two months along."

The doctor handed her some tissues to wipe off the gel and Nell sat up as he turned to the pair of them.

"You will need to take some prenatal vitamins, but there's no reason why you can't fly. I will write you a letter to take to your personal physician and he or she will refer you to your local OB-GYN."

"I do wish you both all the luck in the world," he said handing them the printed off letter for her doctor and the discharge letters for Callen to take back as per instructions. There were two, one in his real name, ostensibly for his father and one in the name of Callen so he could hand that to Hetty and be allowed back to work.

* * *

A few hours later, they were sitting in the family Jet heading back to Los Angeles. Callen kissed Nell's hand, "Are you ok honey?" he asked.

"I just had a thought," she replied her smile growing wider, "When your father asks if we got him anything…do you think he'll be expecting a grandchild?" She placed her hand protectively over her stomach and Callen laughed.

"Somehow I think not," he admitted.

* * *

Walking back into the office a month later with Sam in tow he was surprised to find how much things had changed.

It was a new building, a new team member…although he wasn't sure about Dominic Vaile, he seemed a little too young and too naïve to be an agent, he was following his gut, however he needed to get to know the new agent better before he made a solid judgment.

Nevertheless, there he was…and a new operations manager, Hetty Lange. He settled back into his job, keeping a close eye on the new agent and keeping Hetty close. He wasn't sure why she had taken the job or even if she knew about him and his father, but he was determined to find out.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Callen had been at the new office six months. Nell was eight months pregnant and every week Callen was going from one motel to another for Sam to pick him up, ensuring he was there before Sam arrived every morning. They were due to go out for a team bonding session one night, so Callen had left work early, citing a few chores he had to do, like house hunting. Instead, he went to check on his wife.

Nell was sitting in the bunker, typing away at the keyboard as he arrived; Svetlana was also engrossed in what they were doing.

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" Nell asked, unable to keep the worry from her tone.

"Yes. I have a picture, but no name. He has been working with the DEA for a year now. A new undercover agent named Adam Craig. It has taken me weeks, but he's inside NCIS already so that may mean he knows about Gregori."

"Who's where?" Callen asked as he entered and kissed his wife.

"Hey, your father has been having some problems, and someone has been looking into your Reznikov files," she told him.

"So am I compromised?" he asked worried, as he did not want to move Nell so close to her due date.

"Not yet. They have an idea that someone is working for the DEA and are looking into files that tie in closely to your 'other' work."

"DEA Agent Adam Craig," Svetlana said pulling his bio up on the screen.

" _Dom!_ " Callen spat, angry that he had missed it. He was starting to like the kid. "He's trying to take me down?"

Nell sighed as she rubbed a spot on her stomach, "It looks like it baby."

"Govno!" Callen spluttered in Russian. "I thought we were ok, where's Papa?"

"He's in the gym," Nell said looking upstairs, "Are you going out again?"

Callen nodded, "I'll deal with this, go to the karaoke thing, show my face and be home as soon as I can ok babe?"

Nell nodded, "Stay safe my Callen," she said and kissed him.

He smirked and turned for the elevator to take him upstairs. He found his father sitting in the gym drinking coffee.

"Svetlana said you were working out." He grinned as he came to sit beside him.

"I am  _moy syn_ ," Arkady replied. "I'm working out how to use all of these infernal machines your cousin insisted I have." He smirked as he sipped his coffee and Callen dropped a file in front of him.

"Your work or ours?" Arkady asked.

"Both. The girls found out who has been tracking me down. DEA sent an agent into NCIS. Adam Craig. He's been checking on all the cases we have worked on."

"Does he know it's you?" Arkady asked instantly on alert.

Callen shook his head, "No, but he can't stay there. Juggling this and trying to be 'Callen' for Sam is too much. I won't put my family in danger."

"Then he needs to be taken care of," Arkady said flatly. "Will he be easy to grab or do we need to contract in help?"

"You and me? It will be easy."

Arkady smiled at his son, "When, where and how?" He asked.

Callen opened the folder and went over his plan.

* * *

Dominic Vail, as usual, took the side streets. He needed to meet with his handler before going on to the bar. He knew for definite that there was a mole inside NCIS. Information that was used on certain assassinations was unquestionably being leaked from there. However, he still was not any closer to whom.

He had in his car extensive bios on everyone on the team. Well, as extensive as he was able to get, considering Hetty's file was like Fort Knox and Callen's file was heavily redacted and mostly empty. They had no idea who was leaking information to the assassins that had carried out three recent attacks. As he listened to the announcer on the radio, telling him that there was traffic on the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway), which he could use as cover to explain why he was going to be late, he smiled as he turned into a side street just before the meet and stopped as two vans pulled up. He panicked as men jumped out of the van brandishing weapons and shooting, he reached for his phone but it was snatched out of his hand.

"Put him in the van!" a man with a deep Russian accent ordered.

Dominic looked concerned, the blood from a wound on his head clouding his vision. He didn't know who they were or what they wanted and he didn't want to tip their hand.

They traveled down the PCH stopping at a deserted rest stop. As the doors to the van opened and two men looked inside, three other men took a bag containing money and drove off.

"You have no idea who you are dealing with!" Dom snapped bravely.

Callen pulled off his hood. He knew it was necessary, as he was not going to live long enough to cause them any problems.

"Callen?" Dom asked surprised. "Am I being hazed?"

Callen laughed, "I don't think so Dom. Or should I call you  _DEA_   _Agent_   _Adam Craig_?

"Yeah, I should explain. There's a mole in NCIS. Someone is leaking information to a group of Eastern European assassins. Please help me," Dom begged.

Callen sighed and climbed into the van and closed the door banging the metal twice as the engine started.

"Dom, no one is leaking information to the Eastern Europeans," Callen said.

"But we had Intel. I'm thinking maybe it's someone on another team, maybe Renko."

Callen laughed, " _Renko_?"

"He looks the type. Rugged, maybe Romanian. I can tell Hetty that…"

"You will tell her  _nothing!_  You really don't get it yet do you?" Callen snapped as the van pulled up to the house. He climbed out and pulled Dom with him. " _Out!_ "

Dominic stumbled and his eyes widened as he realized that Callen was holding a gun on him.

" _G?"_  he said.

Callen shot him a look of pure hatred, " _Quiet!_ " He walked into the house with Dom in tow.

"Where are we?" Dominic asked.

* * *

Nell walked down the stairs, carefully as they entered.

"You got him?" she asked as Callen walked over and kissed her.

"Yes dear, now we have an hour. What information do you need to be able to cover our tracks? I need all security footage removed and he needs to disappear."

"You're working with them?" Dominic asked, a light going on in his brain.

Callen smirked, "Bright ain't he?" he remarked to his wife.

"Gregori!" she admonished. "Sit down Mr. Vail, we need to talk."

"I'm not talking to you!" Dominic said boldly.

Callen shoved him into a chair, "You will be civil to my wife and answer any questions she has for you, or you will die sooner."

He was astounded. Callen was the team leader, the one they all looked up to and he was working with the assassins.

"Why?" Dom asked looking over at him in disbelief, "Why work with them?"

"They are my family," Callen replied honestly.

Dom was confused. "I don't understand - you don't have any family."

"Agent G. Callen does not have any family; _however,_  Gregori Nikitovitch Reznikov has a father, cousins, a wife and soon, a child."

" _You-'re_  Rez-ni-kov?" Dom stuttered, still shocked at what was happening. There had been talk around the DEA about the assassin. " _The ghost?_ "

Callen smiled with a sinister grin and Dom shivered.

Nell shot him a look of exasperation and walked over to him, "Untie him Greg. I think he could use a drink."

Dom nodded, "I should thank you Mrs. Callen…er…Reznikov."

"Nell," she said with a smile, "I know my husband likes you, I want to show you what he does here."

Callen sighed, "He won't listen."

Nell leaned over and kissed his cheek, "Let me try my way. You did promise."

"You want a scotch Dom?" he asked.

"Adam," he replied. "I know who you really are, so you can call me Adam."

* * *

Callen handed him a drink as Nell stood by a large screen and started her presentation.

"Eric would love this set up," Adam offered with a hint of his own admiration exposed.

"He would, but he's no Nell. She's  _brilliant_  at this," Callen admitted, his love for his wife shining through.

Nell showed how people were chosen as their targets and the people who had committed the terrible crimes but the authorities had had to let them go due to lack of evidence.

"We have the evidence they don't and we make sure that they can't hurt anyone again."

"You kill them?" Adam asked.

Callen nodded, "Most of them."

"Good," he stated as Callen looked at him in surprise. "I had a younger sister who was killed by a drug dealer. I joined the DEA to catch her killer, and the man, a politician, who hired him. She was only seven years old, playing on the street when she was gunned down.

"Who?" Callen asked.

Adam shook his head, "It doesn't matter; they let him go and you killed the man who ordered the hit, Miguel Sanchez."

Callen smiled, "Remember him love?" he said turning to Nell.

She nodded, "Yeah."

"Thank you," Adam said. "But what now? I can't go back and I won't tell them who you are."

"We can make you disappear," Callen offered.

"Kill me?" Adam asked worried.

Callen shrugged, "Kind of but without the being dead part. Sam, Kensi and Hetty will think you are dead, but you will need to play along."

Adam thought about it for a moment. It would be hard on his parents, but he knew that eventually he would be able to contact them.

He nodded in agreement knowing this would change his life, "I'm in."

* * *

Callen showed up at work the next day. "So what happened to Dom?" he asked Kensi as she arrived at work.

"I don't know. He never showed up at the bar."

"It was his idea wasn't it?" Sam asked.

Eric whistled from the top of the stairs, "Guys, you need to come up here," he announced gravely and walked back to Ops.

They stood around watching the scene, "What is this?" Sam asked.

"LAPD called it in. They found Dom's car early this morning. Guys, there's blood -  _a lot_  of it," Eric said.

"Is he in hospital?" Callen asked.

Eric shook his head, "Dom is missing."

After searching for a week and coming up empty, Hetty declared him  _Missing In Action_  and had Callen mark his file as such.

The team left the bullpen that night with a heavy heart and Callen went home to find Adam and Nell chatting.

"You've been declared M.I.A," he told the younger man.

Adam looked sad, "How did my parents take it?" he asked.

"I managed to be the one to tell them. I told them that you are unofficially on a black op and that you are alive but for your own safety, they need to act as if you are dead. They organized a memorial and they know that only I am read in on it." Callen handed Adam a letter, "Your father said this is for you." He handed it to Adam and left him in private to read it.

 


	6. Chapter 6

Working behind the scenes Adam turned out to be a Godsend to the team, dealing with cases that the CIA and other agencies slipped up on. He was as proficient with a weapon as Callen was and during the few missions they worked together he found himself liking the younger man more and more.

Adam took a case that Callen couldn't when, at nine months pregnant, Nell went into labour. Callen had been working with their new liaison officer, Marty Deeks, in rounding up a team of Iraqi terrorists hiding in the US. They got most of them but one escaped. Callen sent Nell a text and headed back to Ops. As he was completing his paperwork he received a text.

Deeks was doing his paperwork as Kensi and Sam were getting ready to leave.

Sam looked over expectantly at Callen as his phone beeped.

"Another case?" He asked looking expectantly up at Ops.

Callen looked at the message and paled. "No...it's ok, you can head home. I just need to swap rooms for tonight. There's a water leak in my room, I have to go and deal with it," he said, not able to hide the slight wobble in his voice.

Hetty, listening in, looked concerned at Callen but said nothing as he grabbed his bags and the keys for his car and headed out.

* * *

Adam met him at the door to Arkady's. "She's inside. An ambulance is on the way. Your cousin thinks the head is engaged and you may be a father sooner than you think. I'm taking this next job, so go be with her," he stated with a smile while patting Callen's arm.

Callen grinned and ran up to his room where Svetlana was cooling Nell's head with a washcloth.

"Gregori!" Nell yelled as another contraction rippled through her.

"I'm here my love," Callen said as he entered the room.

He looked at her laying on the bed. Her sweat covered brow damp, her breath laboured and he swore she had never looked more beautiful. He sat next to her and held her hand.

"I need to push!" She exclaimed looking over at Sveta for support.

"No need to worry, we will get through this."

Callen watched as the paramedics arrived. They came into the room and realized that there was no time to move her.

"This baby is impatient and is coming now, you'll have to have him or her  _right here."_

Nell looked over at Callen and grabbed his hand.

"You're going to be a father…" she said her face looking at him full of love.

The paramedics worked on Nell as she got ready to push.

A few hours and a lot of hard work on Nell's part and they were holding their son.

"You have a son," Nell said with a tired smile as she looked down at him.

"He is beautiful my Nell," Callen replied as he looked down at the red haired, cerulean eyed boy. "You are beautiful, I love you so much," he said kissing his wife and putting a gentle hand on the head of his son.

"What should we call him?" Nell asked. She had been convinced she was having a girl and at no point had she picked out a name for a boy.

Callen smiled, "Nikita Callen Reznikov, if that is alright with you?" he asked.

Nell looked down at her son and smiled, "Nikita...I like that. Hello Nikita, your papa and I are pleased to meet you." She gave him a small kiss and then moved to allow him to latch on and feed from her.

The paramedics, dealt with the afterbirth and clean up and left the family to relax.

Arkady knocked on the door, "Gregori? Nell, I saw an ambulance, is everything alright?"

Callen grinned at his father, "Come on in, we have someone for your to meet."

Nell lay propped up against the pillows as Nikita fed. She looked totally radiant and smiled as her father in law came in the room.

"You have a grandson, his name is Nikita after his grandfather," she smiled.

Arkady looked at her with tears in his eyes, "He is beautiful, just like you when you were born Gregori, although your hair was not quite as bright," he grinned.

"I think he's perfect," Callen said stroking his son's cheek causing the baby to stop suckling for a second and turn into his father's touch.

Callen smiled, "I am so proud of you my Nell, my wife, my love."

Nell looked at him, teary eyed and full of love, "I love you too." She lay back as he climbed beside her on the bed and gathering her into his arms, the new, young family fell asleep.

* * *

Walking into the bullpen the next day, tired but happy, Callen was dismayed as Hetty called him to her office.

"Mr. Callen, I received  _another_  speeding ticket for your alias last night," She announced as he sat in the chair by her desk.

He winced as he realized that he did deserve the ticket having gone through at least one stop sign and pushed the speed limit as he had headed home to his wife yesterday.

"Can't you just make it  _go away_?" he asked hopefully.

Hetty looked at him with an incredulous look, "Were you on a case?" she asked.

Callen shook his head, "I was in a hurry," he offered with a hopeful smile.

She coughed masking a laugh that couldn't help but escape. "I take it you were going to the assistance of another agent then," she replied with an ' _and I don't think you were'_  look. Callen sadly shook his head. "In that case," Hetty continued, "You are off active duty."

" _What?_   _Why?_ " Callen asked jumping to his feet.

"You are off active duty while you attend traffic school. You will attend under your alias of Greg Wolinski." She handed him his ID. "When you have graduated Traffic School you can go back to active duty."

Callen swiped the address to the traffic school off of her table and stalked back to his desk and grabbed his bag.

"G?" Sam looked up at him, "You ok?"

He was about to answer when Eric whistled. "You have a case," Callen said looking wistfully in Eric's direction, making a mental note to have Nell….no... Sveta look at the case later if needed.

"And  _you?_ " Sam asked getting up.

Callen looked around to make sure Kensi and Deeks were not in earshot, "Traffic school," he admitted. "Got another speeding ticket yesterday, so Hetty is making an example out of me."

Callen walked into the traffic school and grinned as a blonde woman turned to him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked surprised.

"You want to spend the next two weeks here?" Svetlana asked with a smile, "or do you want to see your son?"

Callen grinned and stood up as the teacher walked in, "Mr. Wolinski?" he asked.

"Yes, there was a typo on the application, my sister here is the one who was supposed to attend the school." He smiled and held his hand out as Sveta handed him an amended slip of paper.

"Again Ms. Wolinski, this is your fourth time with us is it not?" The teacher sighed. Sveta smiled and nodded as Callen slipped out the back of the class.

* * *

Heading home, he spent the day with Nell and Nicky enjoying their company before he headed back to the traffic school for Sam to pick him up.

"So how was it?" Sam asked looking at the blonde who came out with Callen smiling sweetly and waving as she left.

Callen smirked, "Not as bad as I thought," he admitted, "But he had puppets, you'd have hated it."

Sam rolled his eyes and walked to the car with his partner, "At least you aren't working the case we have," he sighed as he got in and shut the door.

"Anything I can help with?" Callen asked itching to get back to the mission.

"No...and neither can we apparently," Sam replied cryptically.

"What's going on?" Callen asked.

"I don't know. Vance came to the office to talk to Hetty, something to do with her past. They've been in meetings all day," Sam replied.

Callen said nothing but filed the information away. He watched out of the window as Sam took him to his empty home that Hetty had made him buy.

He had liked the house, and it was in all respects a good idea and a good investment. Although Gregori Reznikov lived in the guest house with his wife and son, it was in fact bigger than the house he was currently standing in. G. Callen owned this home.

Ironically it had been the home he had moved to right after child services found him after he had spent three months with his father. It was here he had been able to keep up his use of the Russian he had learned with his father, much to the delight of the foster family who thought he had just been able to pick up the language easily.

It was here he had learned to perfect the G. Callen that he presented to the world and hide Gregori Reznikov - except when needed.

 


	7. Chapter 7

It had been three years, Adam had been working happily for the team, taking the jobs that Callen and Nikita couldn't. Nell had gone back to work for her father in law, little Nikki was growing like a weed and was the apple of his father's eye.

Callen had kept his cover going, the new replacement for Dominic had taken over, a Los Angeles Police Department Liaison. Detective Marty Deeks had settled into the team nicely. Kensi had after a few false starts taken to him and if he had been asked off the record he thought that the shaggy haired officer was a good match for his teammate.

Callen had kept the house that Hetty brought him as a cover, he didn't feel the need to fill it with furniture, it wasn't his home. Where his wife was, that was his home and there he had furniture.

Nikki was walking, and talking now he was toddling and getting into everything and Callen was loving every moment of it. Adam had become Nikki's godfather and doted on his godson, buying him small gifts from each of the countries he visited for work.

* * *

Hetty had been snooping, he wasn't sure about what yet, but something was going on. He had arrived at work and she wasn't there. He sent his wife a text to try and get a fix on her, but so far nothing. There was a new woman, Lauren Hunter trying to run the OSP and he didn't like it. He couldn't believe that he was being excluded from whatever it was that Hetty was working on. Director Vance turned up and Callen's panic went into overdrive.

He picked up the phone and headed to the back of the mission to call his wife.

"Do you have anything?" He asked.

Nell in the bunker typed on the keyboard and Callen could hear the clatter of keys.

"Lauren Hunter...Agent… Personally selected as Hetty Lange's replacement. She adopted her from an orphanage as a child. According to what Sveta and I dug up, she's a crack shot, she speaks many languages and is linked to something called Operation Comescu…" She said telling him what she had found out, "She speaks Polish, Russian, German, Italian, French and Romani. don't let her trip you up Greg." she warned. "I'm looking for more information on this Operation Comescu, but I have nothing yet, it may be that they are onto you, stay safe my love."

Callen sighed, "I will, text me any other information you find out."

He walked back into the bullpen and listened as Eric gave the team half the facts that Nell had given him.

"So basically, we know nothing? There's nothing on Hetty's whereabouts?" He asked.

"Not yet." Eric had to admit.

Callen walked over to Hunter who was on the phone, he waited as she finished her call.

"So who are you?" Callen asked, knowing the others were watching from the bullpen.

"I'm Miss Lange's replacement. She…" Hunter started.

"...did not retire. Not voluntarily." Callen interrupted her, he needed to get her off balance to see what she knew.

"You were very close with her. I can understand your... confusion."

Callen smiled inwardly, he wasn't confused, just worried, if Hetty or this woman knew about his real life he would have to kill them, he didn't want to do that just yet.

He prodded the key-ring on her desk, "Ah. Warsaw." (Come on lets see how much you do know.) he thought as he looked at it, He turned to her and said, " _you've been to Poland recently ?"_ in Polish.

Lauren replied in the same language, " _Warsaw, eight months. And before that…Murmansk."_

Callen switched to his native Russian, " _Murmansk?"_  She nodded, " _Russia. I worked there. It's very very cold."_

Lauren smiled, " _your Russian accent is very good." she switched to German, "and your German?"_

He switched flawlessly with her, " _Germans usually mistake me for Austrian_ …" then he flipped to Italian, "… _and in Rome, they think I'm from the North."_

She gave a small laugh at that, " _Milan, of course."_ She replied her Italian flawless, then she switched to French, " _and what about in Paris?"_

Callen just smirked, " _in Paris, no matter how good your accent is, they ignore you_."

Lauren chuckled at that, but this dance was getting them nowhere, she needed to know so she switched to Romani a language she had been told he didn't speak, " _is it true…that you don't know what the "G" stands for?"_

Callen's gut clenched. She knew something Callen didn't speak Romani, but Gregori Reznikov did, "Okay, you got me." He lied hoping she would drop it.

Hunter dropped her smile, she didn't believe that he didn't understand her, "Hetty's gone, Agent Callen. She told me herself she's not coming back."

"Well, she hasn't told me, and since she's not answering her phone…" Callen snapped waiting for her to tell him where the diminutive operations manager was.

"Then she mustn't want to talk with you."

God you're stubborn! Callen thought. "You don't know Hetty." He pushed.

"On the contrary." Hunter countered,

Callen could see himself losing his temper so he changed tact, "Serbian?" He asked about the last of the string of languages she had used.

Lauren resisted the urge to roll her eyes, she knew he spoke Serbian, "Not Serbian." She replied.

Callen turned, he needed to find out where Hetty was and quickly her disappearance meant that everything they were working on was on hold. He walked past the bullpen and headed for the door.

"Agent Callen?" She called after him, but he kept walking not caring that the others were first staring at him and then her. "Agent Callen!" she called again. She sighed in annoyance and turned to Sam, "A word with you, Agent Hanna?"

Sam ignored her, he didn't know what was going on but Callen was his partner and he would always have his back. He turned and walked out of the room as Kensi smiled and Deeks and Eric nodded in approval.

Lauren sighed and balled up her fists, "Oh Crap!" she snapped and turned to walk back to her desk.

* * *

Having gone with Sam to Hetty's home, killed the assassins that were in her home, they headed off to the boat-shed to interview the man who was responsible for booking the team of assassins.

Pulling up outside the boat-shed Sam went inside as Callen's phone rang.

"Hello?" Callen said watching as Sam closed the door, he turned and walked down the dock towards the water. "Papa?"

Nikita sighed as he started to talk, he hadn't wanted to have this conversation, "My son, you need to back off this case." he said.

"Why?" Callen asked.

"It concerns a family known as Comescu, the Comescu's are bad people moy syn, they had a blood feud with your mother's side of the family." Nikita sat in his armchair watching as his grandson played.

"So this is about me?" Callen asked confused, "Why would Hetty disappear if this was about me….What does she know?" he asked worried.

Nikita shook his head sadly. "I do not know, but I fear for you moy syn."

Callen couldn't help but smile. "Papa, I will follow this, I need to keep my cover intact while I can, maybe Adam can follow up the Comescu angle, he's in eastern Europe right now isn't he?"

"He is in Estonia, I will have him go to Constanta he can see if there is any movement at the Comescu family compound, I will keep in touch."

Callen shut the phone and turned and headed into the boat shed to interview Bernie Fischer still annoyed that Vance wouldn't read him into the Comescu file.

After interviewing Fischer he realized that whatever it was that Hetty had on him, she had taken it to Poland and he needed to follow.

* * *

He had the beginnings of a plan and went over to Director Vance who was sitting at Hetty's desk, if he could just get Vance to authorize a rescue mission, he could go in, get her out and get the information, if she knew too much, he would have to kill her. Right now she was a walking liability to both him, the organization and his family.

Vance looked up as Callen strode over to the desk.

"Comescu's people have Hetty." He told the Director.

"Yeah, I heard. We'll find her. I'm putting the team on it." Vance said as Callen leaned on the desk.

"You have a team?" Callen asked surprised, he hadn't expected that.

"Not in Prague, I don't." Vance confirmed.

Callen bit back a smile, he could still do this, "How long have you known she's been in Prague?" He pushed.

"Mr Beale just told me." Vance said, Callen looked over at him and he nodded in confirmation.

"I need a ticket on the next available flight." Callen stated looking over at Eric for action.

Vance held up his hand, "Not necessary. I'll send a team from the field office in Paris."

"Oh, that's great." Callen said, knowing he could ditch them easily. " They can pick me up when I land in Prague."

"You're not going to Prague."Vance said standing up and leaning forward.

Callen got angry, "I speak Czech, I speak Romanian, I have contacts in Prague that can help us." He slammed his mouth shut realizing in his desperation that he had said too much.

"You are no longer on this case, Agent Callen!" Vance shouted.

"Then give me a reason! Tell me why! What is Operation Comescu about?!" Callen needed Vance to tell him.

"It's about  _you_ , Agent Callen. Operation Comescu is all about you."

Callen stepped back as though he had been slapped, he knew of course what Operation Comescu was about, his wife was , as usual, perfect in her information gathering, but to find his Director knew and had kept him in the dark was still a shock.

"Operation Comescu is an ongoing investigation into a Romanian crime family. You dream up the worst pain and suffering a man can inflict on another man- the Comescu family's done worse. They've done  _much_  worse. I don't have to ask you if you remember Dobrashin Garasovic, do I?" Vance said as the team walked up behind Callen trying to support their team leader.

Callen nodded remembering the man whose throat he had cut and had made it look like someone else. Garasovic had found his cover home, the one Hetty had brought but he had gotten to close to his real life.

"Garasovic was Romani. Just like the Comescu's. He was trying to contact you. He was trying to warn you." Vance said.

"Warn me about what?" Callen's surprise was real, he hadn't really given the man a chance to explain himself, had he really been trying to warn him?

"That's what Hetty's trying to find out. That's what she was working on. Operation Comescu is hers and hers alone."

"She found out…?" Callen prodded.

"The Comescu Family wants you dead, Agent Callen." Callen looked astonished but truthfully he was livid.

"Why?" Sam asked.

Vance shook his head, "Some sort of long-running family feud, as far as we can tell."

"I don't have...any family." Callen answered by rote.

Neither Vance nor Hunter replied, Callen stood running it through his head, "They think I do?" he asked hoping they wouldn't push anymore, there was no way he was going to place his wife and son in danger, he needed to get there and take them out.

"They probably mistake you for somebody else." Vance supplied.

"Probably." Callen agreed, and then he realized, "Hetty was trying to protect me!" He exclaimed.

Vance nodded, "And that's why you can't go to Prague." He stated.

"That is why... I have to go to Prague." Callen replied stubbornly refusing to back down.

"Hetty has resigned her position. She's operating outside of the authority of this agency. We will send a team from Paris. We'll find her, we'll try to bring her back, we'll try to get her the hell out of there, and you will not... **you will** _ **not**_  be a part of that team." He ordered.

Callen's eyes flashed, leaving a two bit team of federal agents stomping around Prague and any slip up and his family would be in danger. So he took the only option open to him.

He quit.

He left his badge and gun on the desk, turned and walked out, not realizing that back in the mission his team were doing the same thing, backing up their team leader.

* * *

He climbed in his car and picked up his phone, "Nell...Honey I need a ticket to Prague. I'm grabbing my go bag from the house, have it waiting for me at the airport."

"Stay safe honey, I love you." She said.

"Love you too." He replied and closed the phone. "Make sure I have eyes on the ground before I get there."

In the bunker Nell smiled, "I'll call Adam and have him find you a base and keep an eye on the Comescu's and an eye out for Hetty."

Callen smiled, she really did rival Eric at times. He turned his car and headed for the empty house that the other Agents knew as his home it was time to bring this to a head.

It stopped now.

Little did he know how right his thinking was going to be.

 


	8. Chapter 8

Adam did a circuit of the house that Nell had identified as being the Comescu compound and from his slightly hidden spot on the beach he watched as Hetty arrived by taxi and got out alone and walked into the home owned by Alexa Comescu.

He finished his gelato and stood up walking towards the disused warehouse he had set up as a home based for when Gregori turned up in Romania.

He called Nell and filled her in on what he had found.

"She walked up to the house by herself, she definitely was not being held against her will, and she had something in her hand." Adam told her.

"Was it a black book?" Nell asked worried.

Adam paused trying to remember, "I don't think it was, but I couldn't see properly, do you think she's selling Greg out?" he asked.

Nell bit her lip as she searched through the information she had, "I don't know...Keep an eye on him, Nikki and I need him safe." she said a plan forming in her own mind as she was talking.

Adam smiled, "You guys have been awesome to me, I owe you so much, I will protect Greg with my life." He swore.

He cut the call on the burn phone and went back to watching the house to see if Hetty left.

* * *

Callen grabbed his bag and entered the airport to pick up his ticket.

He jumped as a familiar hand landed on his shoulder. "So where are we going?" Sam asked.

He turned quickly masking his frown as he saw his team.

"What are you all doing here? Vance forbid you to come, you'll get fired!" he said.

"We quit...well all but Deeks, but he's just on vacation." Kensi said brightly.

Callen raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

"We've got ya back G, we aren't letting you go in there alone." Sam said.

Callen gave a curt nod, this might hamper his plans, but he needed to play this out for the sake of his wife and son. If the Comescu's were out to kill any Callen, he didn't want them to be in the firing line.

"You can turn back," He said as they stood in the airport, "This isn't your fight, no one will think any the less of you if you go home now. You have a family Sam, what would Michelle think if anything happened to you?" He argued.

"What do you think Michelle would do to me if I didn't go and keep you out of trouble." Sam countered.

Callen smirked, "Me...get in trouble?" He laughed covering his nervousness, "Ok I supposed you'd better come then, do you guys have a ticket?" he asked.

"Eric got us tickets, we're in coach." Deeks grinned.

Callen gave a small laugh, "Enjoy the flight...I'm in first class."

"How'd you manage that!" Deeks asked amazed.

"I called ahead, and have frequent flyer miles." He lied.

Deeks humphed and grabbed Kensi's bag, "We'd better check in...we may come up to visit you in first class." He grinned.

Callen relaxed knowing that it wouldn't be allowed.

They headed to the gate as their flight was called Callen going in first with the other first class passengers.

"Ah Mr. Callen...your other party has already boarded." The stewardess said.

Callen looked confused, "Other…?" He stopped as he saw a flash of red hair, "Thank you." he said and headed towards his seat.

"Nell?" he asked as he bent down to make sure it was her.

"Greg…" she looked up at him.

"What are you doing here?!" he hissed as he sat down and kissed her cheek.

"You think I'm letting you head into a Comescu stronghold alone?" she replied.

"Adam's there." Callen reminded her.

"You need more than Adam at your back." Nell said fastening her safety belt.

"What about Nikki, he needs his mother?" Callen argued while checking her safety belt.

"Your father and Sveta are looking after him, I'm a crack shot and you know it, I'm coming and that's that." She glared at him for a moment before she broke into a smile.

He couldn't stay mad at her, "Fine…" he groused before smiling himself, "You do realize my team has followed me though don't you."

She looked up at that, and she grabbed his hand as the plane taxied on the runway.

"I...I didn't know...they don't need to know I'm here." she said, "We will meet up separately I'll text Adam to get me an extra room."

Callen leaned over and kissed her, "And I will be there as soon as I can ditch this lot."

Callen sat back and chatted happily to his wife as the flight got underway, about an hour into the flight his senses tingled like he was being watched, but when he turned he saw the curtain to first class fall into place, however he saw no one. Assuming it was a flight attendant he went back to his conversation.

Sam closed the curtains, he didn't know who the redhead was that was with Callen, but he didn't need his friend cramping his style right now and it looked like he had hit it off with the feisty looking redhead.

He grinned as he went back to coach smiling as he saw Kensi elbow Deeks who had fallen asleep with his head on her shoulder.

"Callen ok up there?" Kensi asked worried that their team leader was immersed in his own thoughts.

Sam grinned, "He's met a girl in first class, cute little redhead, they seem to be getting on well, I'm not gonna bother him though. We can meet up when the flight lands."

* * *

Eight hours into the thirteen hour flight from LAX to Timisoara in Romania, Callen stretched and looked over at Nell who was asleep smiling in the seat next to him.

"Nell...Honey, I'm going back to coach to check on the other's they'll wonder where I am." He said realizing he had slept for far longer than he (Callen) would have, although it was the normal amount for when he was Gregori and was beside his wife.

She pulled him towards her and wrapped herself around his arm.

Callen smiled and kissed her head, "Baby...I gotta go."

She sleepily looked up at him and rubbed her eyes, "OK honey go, how much longer do we have to go?" she asked.

"About another 5 hours. Go back to sleep." He kissed her head and got up heading back to coach.

He walked past the flight attendant, "I'm just going back to see my friends in coach, could you keep an eye on my wife, this is her first flight?" He asked.

"Of course Mr. Reznikov, I will take good care of her." She said smiling.

Callen nodded, "Oh and if any of my friends come looking for me, they will call me Callen, it's my middle name." he hadn't thought about it earlier and was glad they hadn't come looking for him.

He walked back down the stairs and into coach, Sam and Deeks were sitting either side of Kensi who had fallen asleep and had her head on Deeks' shoulder and her leg draped over Sam. Both men looked thoroughly tired.

"Hey guys!" Callen grinned at the sight.

Sam grimaced, "Hey G...How's the comfy seats?"

Callen grinned and spread his arms as far as he could in the cramped space, "Lots of leg room, beautiful women, can't complain."

Deeks rolled his eyes, "And we're flying coach why?" He moaned.

"You didn't tell me you were coming, I didn't book your tickets." Callen explained.

"So you got a plan for when we land?" Sam asked.

"I'm heading to my hotel, do you guys have somewhere to stay?" He asked concerned.

Sam nodded, "Eric booked us into a 3 star hotel near the beach, not too shabby, The Phoenicia Luxury Hotel."

"Nice….I'm booked into the Hotel Cherica, it's not a bad place. we'll settle in and then I'll find somewhere for us to meet up and text you with an address, we'll pick up some burn phones as soon as we land." he added realizing they didn't have back up phones like he did.

"I've got to head back, but I will meet you at the luggage claim." he walked towards the separation curtain between coach and business class, "You guys have fun now, tell Kensi I said hi." He smirked and went through to enjoy the rest of his flight.

* * *

Arriving at the hotel, Callen put his and Nell's bag in their room.

Callen took out his burn phone and as soon as they arrived and called Adam.

"Hey, we're here." Callen said.

"It's ok G I'm in the hotel already, I have what you need and I'm on my way up." Adam said heading towards the elevator with a large duffle bag.

Within seconds there was a knock at the door and Nell opened it.

"Nell?" Adam looked shocked.

She smiled and gave him a hug, "Adam...Greg knows I'm here don't panic."

Adam looked over at his friend, "Gregori, honestly I had no idea she was coming!" he exclaimed as he placed the duffle bag on the bed.

Callen laughed, "I would never say no to her anyway Adam. So what have you got for me?" He asked.

Adam handed him a folder, "Photo's Hetty arrived a day ago, she walked willingly into the Comescu compound, it's on the beach. She's been seen walking around inside, so she isn't being held." He turned to the duffle bag, "An assortment of weapons from friends of your father. All free with compliments, all in good working order."

"Good Sam will like this one." He said picking up a sig saur that looked a look like Sam's favorite gun.

"Sam's here?" Adam asked worried.

Callen nodded, "You need to get out of town. They are all here."

Adam grabbed a sniper rifle, "I'll be close but they won't see me, I will have your back Greg."

Callen nodded his thanks he zipped the duffle back up and lifted it onto his shoulder, "Did you find somewhere to hold up?" he asked.

Adam gave him an address, "It's an abandoned Garage, a few blocks from the beach. A good place if you end up…err….talking to a Comescu or two."

Callen nodded noting the address, "I'm meeting the guys and then we'll scope out the house. Nell...stay with Adam for now. You…" He turned and looked at Adam poking one finger in his chest, "Keep her safe." He ordered.

"Yes Sir!" Adam replied.

Callen turned to Nell who wrapped her arms around him and kissed him passionately.

"You keep yourself safe Greg." She opened the duffle and took a gun and some ammo for herself.

Callen smiled at his wife and winked, "Don't I always." He quipped and headed out the door to pick up his team.

Adam and Nell followed at a discreet distance knowing that at least two of the people with Callen would recognize him.

"It looked like they are going to check the house out from the beach." Adam told her, "It's heavily fortified, although it looks just like a beach house." He said parking up on the opposite side of the street and handing her a file.

She watched as the group walked onto the beach, she noticed her husband tense up and look pale.

"Oh...God...no!" she exclaimed.

Adam turned just in time to watch Callen sink to his knees.

He grabbed the door handle but Nell stopped him.

"It's ok, he was worried this would happen, although he had hoped it wouldn't." She told him.

Adam looked confused, "What?" He asked.

"Flashbacks, his mother was killed in Romania, that must be where it happened, he knew it was a beach somewhere, even his father didn't know exactly where." She told her friend.

Sam walked over and said something to Callen and he stood up, the shock evident on his face.

"He'll be ok." Nell said to Adam although she placed her hand comfortingly on her weapon, just in case. "We need to take up our positions." she said.

Adam nodded, "There is a office building with a clear line of sight to the Comescu compound, I have rented the room with the right angle so I can cover them. Are you coming with me?" He asked.

Nell nodded for a second, "I'll be with you until they move, I have a GPS chip in Gregs watch, I'll be on the beach close by if needed." she replied.

* * *

Callen paced in the garage that Adam had found for them, while Sam recleaned his weapon again.

"So you gonna tell me what that was about?" Sam asked.

Callen ignored him and placed his own gun on the bench to clean it. "You said I had time." He said.

"G I need to know are you gonna be ok?" Sam asked.

"Yeah...I mean, I knew…" He turned back to what he was doing, he really wanted to tell Sam, but he had to be careful of what he revealed. "I always thought it was the Pacific Ocean, not the Black Sea. You remember the tin soldier that was left on my sister's grave?" he asked.

Sam nodded.

"It was here, I got it here. I was on that beach, with a woman...my mother...they shot her in the head, she died there Sam." he said his voice breaking as he turned away.

"The Comescu's they killed her." He admitted.

Sam's heart fell into his boots, "If you're emotionally compromised, Hetty might get killed." he warned.

Callen shot him a look but stayed silent. If Hetty was working with the Comescu's there was no might about it.

* * *

Hetty looked up as she walked into the Comescu compound.

"I am looking for the head of the Comescu family." She said looking at the man at the head of the dining table.

A woman turned from the sink, a bowl in her hand.

"I am the head of the Comescu Family." she informed the smaller woman placing the bowl on the table.

"I am…." Hetty started.

"I know who you are Henrietta Lange, or is it Gloria Edwards, you have used so many many names." she said.

She gestured for the older woman to sit. "Tea?" she offered.

Hetty smiled, "Thank you." She sat and took a sip of the cup that was handed to her.

"I have information for you." She said handing a flash drive and a small black book over.

"I know cousin." Alexa Comescu said smiling at the woman.

"You know who I am?" Hetty said surprised.

Alexa smiled, "We played as children, I remember you. Why are you here."

"I found out something about a man who works for me...his name is…."

"I know his name." She snapped, "Gregori Nikitovich Callen Reznikov. Not a name I would forget."

Hetty blanched, there had been a rumor but she hadn't been sure until now. She was however convinced that Callen didn't know who he was really.

"Join us." Alexa said and set another place at the table.

"Thank you." Hetty said again and turned to join her family.

 


	9. Chapter 9

Callen looked up at Sam, "She's sitting with them!" He handed the binoculars over, looking surprised.

"Maybe they are making her sit with them? Maybe they know we are here?" Sam suggested.

Callen gave a gruff laugh, "Na there'd be more people on guard."

Sam shot him a look of disbelief, "You ain't that dangerous G.." he laughed as Callen smirked but said nothing staring down and checking his gun.

"You're really worried?" Sam asked surprised at his partner's sudden silence.

"Deeks and Kensi in position yet?" Callen asked deflecting Sam's question.

"Yeah they are coming in from the beach side, just awaiting a text," Sam replied.

Callen looked through the field glasses and grimaced as Hetty laughed at something Alexa said and stood to help clear the table.

"Doesn't look like she's being held against her will to me," he mumbled.

He packed the field glasses away and dropped them in the car. He sent a quick text to Nell and Adam and then returned to Sam.

"Kensi and Deeks ready?" He asked again.

Sam nodded and pointed to where they were on the corner moving into position. Callen nodded grimly and grabbed his gun, moving into position in front of Sam.

* * *

Hetty followed Alexa into the back of the kitchen and sat across from her as she chopped the vegetables for a soup she would never eat.

Henrietta, you were sent to America to watch over the boy, turn him to our cause if possible or tell us if he became a threat. Why you come now to bring us this information?

"There were rumors of Reznikov...an assassin. It wasn't until Mr. Callen was shot that the names Reznikov and Callen became linked. He disappeared after he was shot, I couldn't find him. Then rumors came to me about a Gregori Reznikov recovering from gunshot wounds that were in exactly the same place as Mr. Callen's," she replied looking at the drink in her hand.

"Yet it has been over four years since the shooting. Why the delay cousin?" She asked looking over kindly at the smaller woman.

"I needed to be sure," Hetty sighed. "Every time I have tried to look up information on Reznikov I have been stonewalled. Someone on the inside has been hampering my efforts to find out anything."

Alexa nodded, "I appreciate the efforts you have undertaken on behalf of the family."

"It is not just because of the Comescu family. I have my family, my team and their families are working with him. I don't know how safe they are." she said the worry evident in her voice.

"How much do you know about Reznikov?" She asked.

"Not as much as I thought I did…" Hetty said sadly.

Hetty watched as Alexa walked over to a door at the back of the room and brought out a laptop.

"This is what we have on Nikita Alexsandr Reznikov and Gregori Nikitovich Callen Reznikov." She opened the laptop and started pulling up files. "They have been a father-son killing team since around 1985," she said to Hetty, showing kills the Reznikov's had done over the years.

Hetty read the files, her eyes widening. "I recognize some of these names from the book I gave you. Some family members, some associates. They've all been killed."

It was obvious to her that the Callen she thought she knew and the man in this book, although there were the same person, led totally different lives.

* * *

Callen fired the first shot as the team entered through the main gate.

One by one, Comescu men fell.

"Clear!" Deeks called as he came in from the back.

There was a small scream from behind them as a man came in holding a woman hostage. Deeks glanced over at Kensi as they lifted their guns.

"REZNIKOV!" The man's voice boomed from outside the door that Hetty and Alexa were behind.

Hetty looked up and pulled her gun, as did Alexa and they slowly moved towards the door. Callen's head whipped around as both he and Sam came up behind Kensi and Deeks to see who was yelling his name, in public, he had killed men for less.

" _Damn!_ " Callen swore under his breath as he looked at the woman in the man's grip. "Nell!" he breathed, barely audible.

"DROP YOUR WEAPON!" Deeks yelled holding his gun on the man.

The door opened behind the Comescu and the others moved to aim at the people behind the door. Vasilie Comescu lifted his gun and pressed it against Nell's temple causing her to emit a small noise that sounded like a squeak.

"NO!" Callen moved, holding his weapon in his left hand, palm facing upward, "Let her go."

" _This is going so wrong",_  he thought.

"Mr. Callen, why are you here? Mr. Deeks, Mr. Hanna and Miss Blye, has he told you why he is here?" Hetty asked.

"To rescue you," Sam said.

Hetty gave a small chuckle, "The idea of my being rescued by Mr. Callen right now is laughable."

The team looked from Callen to Hetty concerned by his strange behavior.

Nell moved a bit as Vasilie's grip on her arm tightened.

"So…" Alexa said training her gun on Callen, "You  _do_  have a weakness. Who is she...a friend? A loved one perhaps?"

"Mr. Deeks, Miss Blye and Mr. Hanna, you have a choice to make. You leave, unharmed and without a stain on your record  _or_  you can stand with Mr. Callen, whom I assume is under orders to kill me."

"What?" All three asked in unison.

"She's lying!" Callen shouted.

"OW!" Nell yelled as the grip on her arm tightened.

"Enough!" Callen choked out. He looked at Nell in fear, he couldn't afford to lose her. "Enough...you win." He leant down and gently placed the gun on the floor and kicked it towards Hetty.

"You win bitch. Now let my wife go." Accepting defeat he sighed heavily.

Sam shot his partner a confused looked, "Your  _wife_?"

Kensi and Deeks held their guns not sure where to point them.

"Tie him up," Hetty ordered Sam.

"No...He's my partner!" Sam exclaimed. "Whatever these people have told you is a lie. G isn't gonna kill you Hetty."

Hetty looked over at Callen sadly, "A week ago I would have believed you, but right now for my own safety I would request Mr. Hanna that you restrain Mr. Callen, for his and our safety."

Sam looked between the two of them, "Fine, but we are keeping our weapons until we find out what the hell is happening here," he snapped at her.

"Fair enough Mr. Hanna, I believe you are all owed an explanation," Hetty agreed, shooting Callen a glare of distrust. "Vasilie, would you escort Mr. and Mrs. Reznikov to the dining room, they need to be a part of this."

"Of course cousin," Vasilie replied.

"What? No! You said you'd let her go!" Callen argued, struggling as Sam zip tied his hands.

"I'm sorry G, but I...we...need to know what's happening here."

Callen whirled around almost pulling Sam off balance, "What's happening is that you are being manipulated by a liar!"

Sam looked stricken at Callen's uncharacteristic behavior, but still managed to speak softly, "Well, she isn't the only one who has lied to us now, is she?"

* * *

Callen and Nell were led to the dining room and placed in adjoining chairs.

"I'm sorry Greg." Nell said sadly, "I didn't watch behind me, I didn't see it coming." she whispered shaking slightly as the shame at letting her husband down and the fear of never seeing their son again hit her.

He smiled at her, the team amazed at the look of love he gave her, "It's ok baby, I'll make sure you're safe."

Nell nodded, a stray tear making it's way down her face at the thought of their son growing up without them.

"Hey…" Callen nudged her with his elbow, "He'll be fine and you'll be fine."

Deeks, Kensi and Sam sat at the table as Alexa brought tea and Hetty sat too, placing her small derringer on the table for Callen to see.

"So...are you going to tell us what the hell is going on?" Deeks asked.

"A long time ago, a man named George Callen killed my grandfather." Alexa paused before continuing, "My family was devastated. My grandfather was a good man. We buried our dead, move on, but never forgot. Years later his daughter returned to kill more of us."

"LIAR!" Callen spat. "You murdered my mother! Right there on the beach...right in front of me!"

Alexa sighed, "Your mother was killed by us, but both her and your father had by then killed my mother, father, uncle and brother." She took from her apron pocket pictures of her family and laid them in front of Callen. "We looked into the woman and the man who had killed them. We noticed that there were other deaths connected to them. We also looked into the man, Nikita Alexsandr Reznikov who turned out to be an international assassin from a family of Russian assassins."

Callen clamped his jaw tight and glared at her.

"Alexsandr Reznikov, his son Nikita and his grandson….Gregori...all assassin," she added looking at Callen pointedly.

"Really?" he scoffed. "That's all you have, and you think I'm this Reznikov?"

Hetty looked over at him, "Did you really not know? Or were you hoping that we would believe you?"

Callen shifted uneasily. "What about you? You pretend to be my friend, to care, yet you hide  _this_  from me?" Callen countered. He looked beyond them out of the window seemingly admiring the view without a care.

"Mr. Callen, I did care about you. We hoped that you would not be like your parents," Hetty said

"DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT THEM!" Callen yelled, "You have no right!"

Nell nudged her husband and he turned slightly with a smirk.

"I'm ok," he said to her quietly, his hand reaching out and managing to just brush his fingers with her hand.

Sam gave a small smile at the love he could see radiating between the couple. Although the red-head seemed much younger than his partner, she did seem to ground him.

"Why did you come here Hetty?" Kensi asked.

"I had information that Mr. Callen...Sorry, I mean Gregori Reznikov was actually an assassin and that he was responsible for the death of Dominic Vail. I was worried for the safety of you all."

Callen laughed, "Another Comescu lie."

"Not a lie." Hetty stood and placed both hands on the table, "You were in charge of Agent Vail's disappearance. You were the one who told me he was dead. I trusted you when you said I should not see the body. Mr. Callen, last week I had his body exhumed and the casket was empty. So I ask you,  _where is he_?"

Nell nudged Callen and he smirked.

"Very close by," he replied looking at the red spot on Hetty's chest.

"Now you have a choice Hetty, you can either let us go...or search heaven in vain for him...that is if they'll let you in being a murdering Comescu and all."

Sam gasped as he noticed the red dot. "SHOOTER!" He called turning to look and see if he could see the person on the other end of the laser.

Callen strained as the zip ties he had been working on snapped. He picked the small penknife he had been using, that Nell had slipped him, off the floor and quickly cut her bonds.

Callen picked up his gun and aimed it at his former team members.

"Hetty, I want that book. I  _know_  you brought it here," he told her.

"What book?" Hetty asked her voice shaking slightly.

"THE BOOK!" Callen yelled as Nell took Kensi's gun and aimed it at her. "I want the goddamn book!"

Hetty shook her head. "No...it's our last bargaining chip. I give you that and what's to stop you and this woman from shooting us all?"

"My word," Callen said flatly.

Alexa laughed, "Believe the word of a Callen?"

"If it is preferable you can have my word, I am Gregori Nikitovich Callen Reznikov. People are dying because of that book, good people...I need it." He said ignoring the looks his former team were giving him. "And my word, Hetty Lange is, you hand over that book or the head of the Comescu family will die."

"Never!" she exclaimed unwilling to believe he would do such a thing.

"You think Dominic Vail is dead?" Nell added, "In a way you are right. After he found out what the US government was hiding he died. But he is not gone...Adam...now!" She smiled and moved a step to the left.

The sound of a bullet rang out Alexa fell to the ground her forehead marred by a bullet hole. Hetty looked around, for a second, a look of grief crossed her face until she hid it with a mask. She looked at the rest of the team who were standing there in shock as Nell picked up the last of the weapons from off the table and tucked it into her waistband.

"This is your word, Agent Callen?" Hetty spat. "This was your team, the second you walk out of here you are history, the CIA, FBI and NCIS will all be after you."

"The book…." Callen said his voice even and low.

"Here!" she slammed the book from out of her pocket onto the table. "Take the damn book, I swear I will hunt you down."

Callen grabbed the book and slipped it into his back pocket.

"G?" Sam asked as Callen stepped back towards the door. "How am I going to explain this to Michelle and the kids?" He hoped more than anything that Callen was wrong and that this was maybe some elaborate joke.

A flicker of regret crossed Callen's face. "Tell her I'm sorry, but this is who I have always been, this is for the greater good."

As they backed up to the door, Kensi and Hetty gasped as they saw a car pull around and the driver got out.

"GREG! Wheels up in 5!" Adam yelled and climbed back into the car.

"Greg?" Nell touched his arm.

"G...NO!" Sam begged.

With a last sad look; Callen followed his wife out the door and threw himself in the car as Adam peeled away from the Comescu compound.

Hetty collapsed into a chair and held her left arm as a familiar pain shot down it.

"Hetty?" Sam called noticing that her face had fallen slightly on one side and she had gone pale.

She slid slowly off the chair and onto the floor.

"HETTY!"

 


	10. Chapter 10

Hetty awoke slowly to the sound of beeping, she was obviously in a hospital bed but  _why_? She gasped as the events that had just happened played out in her mind.

"Hetty?" Kensi asked as she sat up realizing that the woman was awake.

"Miss Blye...where am I?" she asked with a groan and a slight slur as she tried to sit up. She did not like feeling so out of control. She had spent years being on top of everything and now things seemed to be falling down around her.

Kensi passed her the remote for the bed and moved her into a more comfortable position. "You're in Los Angeles...it's been a month since you had a small heart attack and a stroke," she informed the older woman.

Hetty nodded silently taking note of what was working properly and what didn't seem to be as strong as before. She wanted to ask if she was in custody, but she assumed by the lack of restraints that she wasn't. So maybe they hadn't got their hands on the book, which meant that Callen still had it.

"The book!" she couldn't stop herself from saying it aloud.

"Shhh...don't…" Kensi pressed the button for the nurse, "It'll be ok." She tried to stop the older woman from worrying.

"Callen….he...he took...he killed….I have to..." Hetty closed her eyes as the strain tired her out. When the nurse came in and injected more sedatives into her IV it caused her to fall back into a restless sleep.

* * *

Kensi stood up and went into the hallway to call Sam. She stopped as Director Vance and Lauren Hunter walked towards her.

"How is she?" Lauren asked.

"She woke up and said something about the book. I think she was having flashbacks to what happened in Romania...she got agitated and the nurse sedated her," Kensi told them.

"Damn! So the book is real?" Hunter asked. "None of you in your debriefing mentioned the book."

"It…" Kensi realized that they had made a mistake. "We focused on Callen with that woman...and Dom...I forgot the book. I mean he was fixated on it, but neither of them really said what was in it."

Lauren shot Vance a worried glance and Kensi caught it.

"What is it about this book? Is this why Callen and Dom went rogue?"

"Ms. Lange will be asleep for a while. Agent Blye, call the team in and I will fill you in at the boatshed," Leon said making a judgement call.

Kensi nodded in agreement and went to do as ordered.

Lauren watched her go. "Leon, Hetty wouldn't want this to get out," she said, still loyal to the woman who had raised her.

"Agent Hunter, it is about time we did what was right. If the information I have is correct, then a lot of good people may be in danger. My problem is that I don't know who they are in danger from, people who support Ms. Lange or the people who are helping Agent Callen." He sighed wearily as he looked through the small window in the door at Hetty's sleeping form. Steeling himself he turned and with Agent Hunter on his heels, headed for the boatshed. Pulling out his phone, he made a call on the way to the car.

* * *

By the time Agent Hunter arrived, Kensi, Deeks, Sam and Eric were all in the boatshed.

"So what are you not telling us?" Sam snapped as she walked through the door.

"I know as much as you do Agent Hanna," she responded as she walked in. "I was hoping Director Vance would be here first."

"I am," Vance replied, walking out of the back room with another man who was dressed in a suit. "Everyone, this is Agent 'Smith' CIA. His real name is classified beyond my pay grade. He is here to read us in about the black book," he said and then indicated for the older man to sit.

"The black book has been talked about in discrete circles since the 1950's back when the CIA was OSS. There was an Agent, young...motivated, a George Callen. He stumbled across the list while taking out a crime family known as the Comescu's." He stopped at the looks of shock and recognition that was on the faces of the people around the table. "You know of them?" He asked surprised.

Sam nodded. "We've had dealings," he deadpanned. "So...what's in the book?"

Agent Smith looked hesitant before he replied. "The names of double agents, past and present. Lists of dirty CIA agents." He smiled slightly, "Yeah there are a few. The CIA have been trying to get their hands on this list for years."

"So what happens if this book falls into the wrong hands?" Deeks asked.

"You don't have it?" Smith asked surprised.

"No. Callen...ex-Agent Callen; and a man we thought was dead, Agent Dominic Vail; who supposedly died in a shootout three years ago; and an unknown woman, took off from the Comescu compound with the book." Sam said.

"Callen as in George Callen?" Smith asked. "Do you have photos?"

Vance nodded at Eric as he pulled photo's of Callen, Dom and a photo of the woman up.

Smith smiled, "Craig, he's a good Agent,"

"Sorry...Craig?" Hunter asked.

"Adam Craig, Counter Terrorist Unit. He's been undercover for years. He was sent to NCIS to flush out the book, and rumors of a group of assassins. We weren't sure whose side they were on, we still don't he went dark about three years ago."

"So the CIA had an Agent undercover?" Leon asked his voice rising with annoyance.

Agent Smith nodded, "We suspected an older woman, ex-CIA Agent Henrietta Lange, who worked for you, but as she's not here, I assume that she doesn't anymore. We believed she had something to do with the Comescu crime family and possibly the death of Agent George Callen and his daughter CIA Agent Clara Callen."

Leon shook his head, "Hetty Lange is our Operations Manager. She is in hospital recovering after being shot by Agent G. Callen," he said pointing to Callen's picture.

Smith looked at Callen's picture and nodded. "I can see it, he looks like his mother, she was a good woman," he said softly to himself. Then he turned and looked at Leon. "You had Lange and Callen on the same team, do you not know?" He asked amazed. "Lange was a Comescu, they are sworn enemies, it's amazing he's still alive!"

Leon looked at the man in concern, he had had no idea that there had been a danger to his agent from their operations manager.

* * *

Eric coughed, "We have these images of a man we have seen a few times with Agent Callen. I've been looking and there are a few of the woman as well."

Agent Smith stopped as Callen and Arkady were shown looking at something in a childrens playground.

"Reznikov…" he breathed. "You're man Callen know's him?"

"Apparently, from what I have been told, Agent Callen has gone rogue and is working with him," Leon snapped.

"No." Smith shook his head. "A Callen working against his country would  _never_  happen," he said adamantly.

Leon shrugged, "That remains to be seen. You said this other man was called Reznikov?"

Smith nodded. He wrote something down on a piece of paper and handed it to Eric. "Access this file, password Semper Fortis," he instructed.

Eric tapped on the tablet and a file opened on the screen. A younger version of the man appeared along with a set of pictures, which ended with the red-headed girl and a blond haired little boy in the last one.

"This is Nikita Reznikov, he is the son of Alexsandr Reznikov, who worked for a while with the Comescu's in the 40's. Alexsandr joined forces with George Callen to help write the black book, so it is said." Smith stopped and watched as the others took it in, "It is said he had a son but no one has been able to find any pictures of him, since this one." A picture of a very young boy with familiar piercing blue eyes stood out on the screen. "Rumor had it he was killed, but other rumors had him kidnapped. Reznikov was searching for him for years, then in 1985 he stopped and worked solely on finding the black book. We assumed that maybe the son was dead."

Sam took a step closer, "I think Callen is the son. The woman he called his wife, called him Greg."

"Gregori Nikitovich Reznikov. We have heard of him, but again no pictures. Maybe a brother."

"Anything on the woman?" Leon asked.

Eric nodded, "Nell Jones, last seen in Colombia, September 2000. She was fifteen, on a school trip when she was reported missing; she had slipped away from her group and despite a search by authorities, there was no sign of her. They concluded that she was sold into child trafficking."

"So Reznikov bought her?" Sam asked incredulously. "I don't buy it, G wouldn't...not a kid...no way."

"Callen had a mission in Colombia in 2005 where he went missing for six months. We found him crossing the Mexican border back into the US, then told us he was injured in the raid."

"Maybe they met then?" Kensi suggested.

"So who's the kid?" Deeks asked.

Smith shrugged, "We think it's Jones' kid. Somehow she is tied in with the Reznikovs. She's never out alone. She's either with Nikita or a blonde-haired woman named Svetlana Volkov, who is a cousin."

"Maybe we should bring her in?" Hunter suggested, "A rescue mission, she might tell us what she knows."

Leon nodded, "Hopefully she'll be grateful enough at being released and will co-operate."

"You are right, but I want in on this. If she knows where the black book is I want to be the one to find it. I've been looking for it for years," Smith admitted.

"Very well," Vance said looking at the team. "Bring in Miss Jones," he ordered.

 


	11. Chapter 11

What they were about to do did not sit well with Sam at all.

Jones/Reznikov/Callen...whatever her name was, hadn't looked, to him, like she was under duress. Not like the look she had give to Callen when they were at the Comescu compound. But Director Vance had been clear, She was the link to finding Callen, flushing him out and finding the book.

Callen had said she was his wife, but Sam had his doubts. She was much younger than him and it was only last month that G hit on every long legged blonde in a bar the two men had visited. She wasn't his type.

Hetty was still recovering from not only her gunshot wound, but a stroke  _and_ heart attack! It was questioned if she would ever return as Operations Manager.

The team, including Hunter, stood around the table in the boatshed as Eric filled them in over the monitor.

"I've found them...Jones, the child and a woman, Volkov...they're in Venice," he announced.

"Farmers market," Hunter confirmed.

"We need to bring her in. The intel we have is that she was kidnapped as a child, so they may be holding her against her will. She may co-operate."

"She didn't look like she was being held…" Deeks mused remembering her actions in Romania.

"They had her son…" Kensi argued, "I'd pretend to be in league with them to protect my child."

"You think they…" Sam swallowed leaving the thought untouched and shook his head.

"I think Agent Hanna, that we should bring them all in, with as minimal amount of fuss as possible," Hunter ordered.

Sam's gut clenched as he nodded before heading out to bring them in.

* * *

Nell laughed as Svetlana tried on a floppy hat, "Do you think Greg would like this on you?" she asked.

Nell shrugged, "I don't know, but it's too big for you, so it would drown me," she laughed.

"MAMA!" Nikki called as he saw a large, red fire truck.

Nell bent down and picked him up, "You want that?" she asked.

Nikki nodded, "And a car for Daddy?" he asked hopefully.

While Greg and Adam were at the house going over the book, informing those who needed to get to safety, Nell enjoyed a day of shopping with her son and cousin. Smiles and laughs were shared often that day amongst the three of them.

"I will buy Greg the car," Svetlana announced, "Maybe he will buy one just like it," she smiled ruffling Nikki's red hair.

"Truck?" Nikki asked his big blue eyes pleading with his mother and his small toddler hand reaching out for it.

"Ok…" Nell relented and handed over some money for the shiny wooden fire truck.

Nikki grinned and as his eyes wandered again he reached out. "'Nana's?" he asked pointing to a fruit vendor.

Sveta laughed, "Just like his father." She walked over to buy the fruit as Nell put her purse away.

The second Sveta's back was turned, a large hand wrapped around Nell's mouth.

"NCIS. Keep calm, we don't want to scare the child," Sam said softly. "You need to come with us now. I don't want to be forced to shoot."

Nell blinked a few times, tears forming as her eyes locked on her son, "I can't leave him... _please_."

Sam nodded, "Bring the child too."

Nell picked Nikki up and went with Sam shaking in fear as to what her husband's former partner would do.

Nikki climbed up onto Nell's lap in the dark colored SUV Sam was driving and curled up, soon falling asleep.

Back at the Market Sveta was frantically searching for Nell. In the end she picked up her phone and made the one call she never wanted to make to her cousin. Callen paced the basement as Adam ran through all the footage he could find.

" _There_!" he cried triumphantly as he spotted Nell's small green car parking up, "Got them."

Callen watched as his son, wife and cousin started their day enjoying themselves in the market, until Sveta went to buy something and then… "Sam!" Callen growled.

He turned from the screen showing Nell and Nikki getting into the SUV, "Hetty has her...I'm getting them back," he vowed.

* * *

Nell sat in the small wooden building, her son asleep in her arms, watching the people that she hadn't seen since the run in in Romania.

"Do you want to put him on the couch?" Kensi asked.

Nell shook her head, "No...he's fine." She was scared. This time she didn't have Greg or Adam watching her back and her confidence was shot.

Kensi pulled up a chair and sat near her, "He's a lovely boy. How old is he?"

"Three.  _Please_ , he is innocent...don't let her hurt him…" Nell started to cry and Nikki stirred.

" _Who?_ " Kensi asked thinking that maybe Hunter and Vance had been right. "You're safe now."

Nell shook her head, "She'll find me...she'll take him and make him grow up alone and unloved like she did to…." Nell broke down and Kensi reached for her.

"You're safe here, I can promise you that."

Nell sniffed and looked up at the woman, "I know you think that...but you don't know...you don't know what she did, what she  _can_ do…" Nikki sneezed and snuggled into his mother's arms.

The door opened and Hunter walked in, "Miss Jones...my name is Lauren Hunter. I am Operations Manager for NCIS."

Nell blinked in surprise. She had thought that Hetty was in charge. Was she dead then?

"I am here to offer protection for you and your child. All we want is the information you have."

Nell looked at the dark haired woman in surprise, "You want the book, don't you?"

"I have heard about a book, do you know what it contains?" Hunter asked.

"If I tell you, how can I guarantee that they'll be safe?"

" _They?_ " Kensi asked.

"The agents in the book. There are still a few, they are still alive, she never got them all."

"Of course we will protect the Agents," Hunter replied.

Nell sighed in relief. This was what Greg, Nikita and Adam had been working for. She stood up, nodded, placed Nikki down on the couch and covered him with a blanket. The same blanket, unbeknownst to her, that had covered his father more than once.

"Tell me about Reznikov and his operation," Lauren asked gently as Nell sat back down.

Nell nodded. "Nikita didn't start it...it was started in the late 1940's by George Callen and Alexsandr Reznikov. They were friends, both from different sides of the East/West divide. George Callen helped smuggle refugees out of Russia and East Germany after the war to safety in the West. Reznikov was KGB and Callen was CIA but they were friends."

Lauren nodded and Nell continued not realizing that Eric and Vance were listening in from Ops.

"George was eventually killed by a Comescu, I forget which one, but his daughter Clara and wife were saved by Alexsandr and sent to America. There Clara grew and joined the CIA, never forgetting the family that had saved her."

She stopped as Deeks and Sam walked in, "It's ok, they want to help too," Kensi said reassuring the young woman.

Nell looked at Sam with a sliver of distrust, but nodded hoping that they could help.

"So...Clara joined the CIA and went back to Eastern Europe where she visited with Alexsandr and met Nikita. She had heard about the book, a list of Agents who were being targeted by rogue agents in the US and the USSR. Nikita was a Major in the KGB at the time and they teamed up to protect agents on both sides who were all good people. Then someone sold Clara out to the Comescu's and they killed her. Her children were smuggled to the US, and as soon as he could, Nikita followed." Nell looked at the people around the table wondering just how much she should tell them. "Nikita continued his father's and Clara's work."

Sam stood up and helped himself to a coffee and then sat back down placing a cup in front of her.

"You know you're safe now, right?" he asked.

Nell nodded, "Yes. I heard she was dead. Adam was a good shot."

The others exchanged glances, "Eric?" Deeks said to the screen.

"Svetlana Volkov is alive. No one shot her?"

"Why would someone shoot Sveta?" Nell asked alarmed, "Are you telling me she isn't dead?"

Kensi turned to Nell, "We know what happened to you as a child...we know what they did to you…" she said softly.

" _What?_ " Nell looked confused, "I know what Sanchez did...but Greg saved me. Why on earth would I want to run from Nikita and his family? They are the good guys...you don't understand the greatest threat out there is not them...it's  _her_...Hetty Lange. She was a double agent working both sides of the Iron Curtain. She leaked the name of Clara Callen to her family...you know this...you were at the family home...we shot her! She is dead... _right?_ " Nell's voice picked up and on the couch Nikki stirred.

"Hetty is in hospital, she was grazed and had a heart attack and a stroke, but she isn't dead. You've been lied to. Hetty isn't a double Agent," Lauren insisted.

Nell shook her head, "You said...you promised...I'm not safe…" she turned to go to her son.

"We will keep you safe," Sam promised. "Please just help us...Help us get to the bottom of this. To find Dom and Callen."

"I'm right here." Callen's furious voice came from behind them. "Now let my wife go. This is a new low, especially for you Sam, but not one I am not ready to visit myself. If you want to see Aiden and Kamran again, you will let them go."

Sam paled and turned to the man he had trusted as a partner. "You have my children?" he asked.

Callen smiled coldly, "You have mine and you were prepared to turn them over to Hetty and Vance."

Nikki woke up and rubbed his eyes. "Daddy?" he asked.

For a moment Callen took his eyes off Sam and smiled at his son.

"It's ok buddy," he said softly, "You rest."

"G... _my kids_?" Sam asked.

"Why did you take Nell and Nikki?" Callen asked.

"Because you kidnapped Nell!" Lauren snapped.

" _What?"_  Both Callen and Nell said at the same time.

"No...no...he _saved_  me. That's what I've been telling you! He is on the right side. The danger that you've been hunting isn't Greg, it's Hetty!"


	12. Chapter 12

Hunter moved closer, "Hetty Lange is an exceptional agent," she argued.

"She's a double agent and a murderer. She leaked the name of my mother to the Comescu's  _and_  watched as they killed her. The only reason I am alive is because she hadn't the guts to kill children and she hoped the system would do it for her," Callen retorted. "I trusted her, but I learned my lesson and she had no idea." He laughed sourly, "Even when she tried to correct her mistake and  _'save'_  me from the system she had no idea that I knew who I was and exactly who she was."

"G...my kids?!" Sam pushed again.

"You want to see them alive and well again, you let my wife and child go," he threatened, knowing full well it was an empty threat.

"We were saving them," Hunter argued.

"From who?" G spat angrily.

"From you!" she retorted, "I know that you married her when she was underage and you smuggled her into the country."

Sam looked at Callen in shock, "You did?"

Callen shrugged noncommittally, "That's not important now. What's important is that you kidnapped my family and I want them back."

"What about  _my_  family G?"

"They are safe with my father. If he doesn't hear from me they won't be," Callen warned.

As if on cue, Sam's phone started to ring. "It's Michelle," he said and Callen snatched it out of his hand. "Michelle it's G. Sam's safe...so are the kids, don't wor...what safeword?" He scowled at the phone in his hand and threw it against the wall smashing it into pieces. " _Damn!_ " he swore.

* * *

Nikki woke up and the noise and started crying. G looked in his direction. "Let my family go!" He ordered again. Angered at his son's distress, he nodded towards Nell who moved to comfort the child.

"G you don't need to do this, we are not the bad guys here."

"No? Hetty is and you are working with her," he argued. "I know what she wants and I know why she had you take them, but she's  _not_  getting the book back. Her and Mattias can rot in Hell before I see that book back into their hands."

"We are walking out of here and you aren't going to stop us," Nell said bravely, holding her son and walking to stand behind him.

"Go...Adam is outside. Take Nikki and go home," Callen said quietly to Nell while keeping his eye on the others.

_"My Callen_ , what if they  _don't_ let you go?"

"I'll be fine  _moya lyubov'_ ," he replied with a smile that reassured anyone looking at him that he was a man of his word. "Take Nikki to safety, I will follow."

Grabbing her bags and her son Nell kissed his cheek, "Stay safe," she whispered and walked towards the door watching the movement of the others as she left.

G looked at the pained faces of his ex-coworkers as he backed out, "I'll let you know where the kids are when they are safe," he said to Sam.

* * *

"G... _Please!_ " Sam begged, "I need to know...I need...Proof of... _proof_... _please?_ "

Hearing the door behind him shut as Nell and Nikki left, he nodded and picked his phone out of his pocket.

" _Papa..._ _Mozhete li vy postavit' Sams detey na telefone pozhaluysta."_  [Dad can you put Sam's children on the phone please.] He handed Sam the phone.

"Hello?" Sam said.

There was excited chatter on the other end as Kamran told her father how much fun they were having with Uncle G's dad. Sam smiled as he listened to her.

"Ok Jellybean, either your mom or I will be by to get you soon, or Uncle G will drop you off ok? Can I talk to your brother now?" He waited as Kam called for her brother. "Aiden?" Sam said hoping his fifteen year old son was taking this as well as his eight year old.

"Hey Dad. We're ok. I don't know what's going on but this guy has loads of pictures of Uncle G so I'm going with the fact he's telling us the truth. Kam's having fun and they've been nothing but kind to us. Dad...Is Uncle G in trouble?"

"Not yet," Sam growled as he looked at his former partner menacingly.

"I gotta go Dad, the man says can you pass the phone to his son."

"Stay safe and look after your sister. I love you," Sam said with a slight quiver of fear in his voice as he handed G the phone.

"Da, Papa." G said as he took the phone. " _Adam dolzhen byt' s Nell i Nikki pryamo seychas. Mne prikhoditsya ochistit' zdes' i togda ya budu vzyat' detey obratno k Sam."_ He closed the phone leaving Sam looking at him curiously wondering what he had just said.

"I told him that if Adam has my family I will be by to get yours soon. If my wife and child are not safe, then yours won't be either," he warned as he headed for the door.

* * *

As he moved to go the CIA agent who had been there briefing the team, stepped out of the shadows. He had gone unnoticed by Callen as he had been focused on his team and his family. But now he was moving and was deemed a threat. G still heading for the door and covering himself with his weapon moved it to include him.

"Agent Callen…I don't know if you remember me, I'm…"

"I know who you are, Agent Rothman...my question is whose side are you on and why are you here?"

"You saved me and my family from the Molina CarteI. I owe you Agent Callen  _but_  the CIA needs that book."

"No." Callen shifted his stance uncomfortably, "That book is safe and it stays where it is hidden."

"I am not here to give it to anyone else. We know what is in it," Agent Rothman said.

"You're Agent Rothman?" Vance asked in surprise. "I heard about the mission in Colombia. I thought it was a CIA extraction team that saved you."

"They took me out, but Reznikov came in first and killed the man who was going to kill me and then cleared the way for the CIA team."

Callen gave a small self deprecating grin. "Your family  _and_ you were in the book. I thought you had taken your family and gone underground?"

"I have, well they have, and I go by Smith now. I want to take them down as much as you do Callen. You have a good name to uphold your mother would be proud of what you are doing.  _Please_  let us finish the job she and your father started."

Callen's aim with the gun waivered, "I will get the book and only give it to you as  _they_  can't be trusted."

Sam gave a snort of derision, "We can't be trusted? You've lied to us for  _years_ , you took my  _kids_  and  _WE_  can't be trusted?"

"You work for her. Hunter is still convinced that she is innocent. Isn't that right Agent Hunter?"

"I know her."

"What do you know Agent Hunter? She took you in at fourteen, when you were at your lowest, raised you in her home and told you that you had potential."

"How do you know?" Hunter stepped back surprised.

"She did the same to me, Stevens and Sullivan."

"How could she have done that? I was there, I would have known them."

"She has more than one home, each with a housekeeper who stayed when work kept her away. I had Duke….You?"

"Karen...but…" Lauren looked defeated.

"But nothing. You were played. All those languages Hetty insisted you learn...which was your most important...German?"

Hunter nodded, "Yes. Why?"

"Mine were Polish and Romanian. When she went to Prague and took out that crime den, it was a set up. I wasn't supposed to find the woman in the closet, I was supposed to take out a crime family that was up against the Comescus."

"That would have been a bad thing?" she argued.

Callen shook his head, "I would as they were undercover Interpol agents after her and Matthias."

"Matthias Draeger, Uncle Matt?" Hunter looked confused. "Uncle Matt is a sweetheart a kind old man."

"Matthias Draeger is an ex German spy and an international Arms dealer," Callen told her.

"You're lying," Hunter protested.

"No he's not," Rothman affirmed. "Matthias Draeger has been on our watch list for years."

Hunter looked stunned. "So Hetty…."

"Is the person you have been looking for," Callen replied. "I will get you a copy of the book." He acquiesced turning to Rothman, "But the book itself is my get out of jail free card for me and my family." He backed out towards the door.

"G….my kids?" Sam asked again.

"I'll call you."

* * *

Callen shut the door to the boatshed and then shot the electronic lock from the outside so that they were sealed in. Walking down towards his car, he stopped as a familiar figure stepped in his path.

"You thought it was that easy to get away Mr. Callen?"

Hetty asked stepping out from behind a car and blocking his path.

He noticed she was unarmed, holding nothing except for a cane to hold herself up and a hand behind her back to steady herself. so didn't reach for his weapon.

"You need to trust me. I am not your enemy," she said, smiling affably at him.

"I know better woman," Callen snapped.

"Really Mr. Callen, after all we have meant to each other?"

Hetty looked sad. "All you need to do is give me the book. It is for your own good."

Callen pulled out his gun.

"I am unarmed. Are you really going to shoot an old woman in broad daylight?" Hetty asked looking at the security cameras both from the street and the boatshed which she knew would be trained on them right now.

Callen lowered and re holstered his weapon and shook his head backing away from her, "I am not giving you the book. I am leaving and I will give a copy to the CIA, but no one else."

"Mr. Callen…." Hetty warned, her voice turning colder as he walked away. "Mr. Callen….!"

He walked away smiling as he heard her yell.

Then within a moment he was on the floor writhing as every nerve in his body felt like it was on fire. He jolted as he managed to pull out the two wires that were embedded in his shoulder and turned to look at her.

She stood a short way from him, the taser in her hand lowering it slowly as the wires fell uselessly to the floor. He twisted away and looked angrily at her.

"Damn you!" He slurred as he pulled away.

"I  _will_  have that book. I can tell them you are a wanted criminal Mr. Callen. I can give all I have on you and your father to the police."

Callen dragged himself shakily to his feet, his head buzzing and foggy. "No…" he backed away from her slowly, "You are not going to be the one to put all those agents at risk."

" _You_  will be putting more lives at risk. You have no idea what you are doing!" She moved towards him, "You will never be able to work at NCIS again. You will be hunted down like the rogue agent you are...Your life is  _over!_ " She shouted as he turned and ran away.

 


	13. Chapter 13

Sam ran towards the doors as he heard the gunshot.

He pulled on them but the lock held fast.

"Damn...G!" He yelled pounding on them with his fists for a moment.

"Calm Down Agent Hanna, I will call Mr. Beale to come and free us."

Sam looked furious at him, "He has my children Director. I'll be damned if I'm going to stay here while he is out there with them."

"Look!" Kensi pointed to the monitor as G stopped outside the building and Hetty walked with her stick around the corner.

"See now you'll see that Hetty is on our side." Lauren argued. She watched open mouthed in horror as Callen raised his weapon at her. "No!"

She watched as he soundlessly lowered his weapon, she had no idea what was being said, but he turned to go and she relaxed for a moment. "See...She's not...Oh my God! NO!" She exclaimed as Hetty tasered him in the back. "No...she can't be!" They watched in astonishment as Callen got up and ran away from her.

"We have to get out there and arrest Hetty," Vance said, "Agent Hanna…" He stopped and looked around, Sam was nowhere to be seen. "Agent Hanna!" he called but to no avail.

At that moment Sam was in his car watching as the limping form of Callen came around the corner and crawled into his car.

* * *

He sat for a moment, his arms and legs aching and his heart pounding. He tried to pick up the phone but dropped it as his fingers fumbled with the screen.

"Damn." he looked to see if she was following.

He had been wary of her but had never been afraid of her as he was now. She had been nasty and manipulative but never had she caused him physical pain.

He started the car and drove for about five minutes until he started to feel bone weary tired again, the after effects of the taser pulling at every muscle in his body. He sat for five more minutes glaring at the phone as it rang knowing he couldn't reach for it without causing himself immense pain.

He pulled over not noticing Sam's challenger behind him and slept for a while.

Sam was furious, obviously something had happened to Callen since they had left the boatshed. He seemed injured, he was torn between concern for the man he had thought of as a partner for years and the concern he had for the welfare of this children.

Sitting for a moment he decided to make a decision.

He climbed out of the car and walked towards G's car and knocked on the window.

Without opening his eyes the first thing G did was draw his weapon and pointed it at the glass.

"If I'd have been a cop, you'd be dead by now G." Sam growled. "What's going on with you."

"Too tired Sam." Callen dropped the gun in the footwell with a thud.

"G?" His concern for his ex-partner won out.

"Pick up my phone, hit redial and tell my father to take the children…." He groaned with the effort of talking.

Sam opened the door, "Tell me where to go and move over, I'll collect my kids and take you home safe to yours."

"No...not safe...she's following...know it…" His eyes started to roll back into his head.

"Hey...hey G...stay awake man. I need to know where to go." Sam shook him and Callen groaned and told him the address just before he blacked out.

Sam checked him over and couldn't see any visible wounds, "What the hell happened to you man?" he asked although he knew he wouldn't get a reply. He turned the engine on and drove in the direction of the address that Callen had given him.

* * *

He was amazed to see a large mansion sized house, the gates outside the house were locked as he pulled up. He looked for a buzzer or some kind of intercom but was surprised as the license plate was scanned by a laser and the gates opened.

The door opened and the woman, Nell, came running out along with Dom.

"Greg!" she shouted as she saw him in the passenger seat.

Adam drew his gun and aimed it at Sam. "What did you do to him?"

"I didn't do anything Dom, I followed him as he left the marina, he seems to have been injured but I can't find anything."

"Adam...My name is Adam." Adam told him as he opened the passenger side door.

"He told me to bring him here." Sam informed them.

"Greg?" Adam shook his shoulder, "Greg...What happened."

G opened his eyes, "I need to get...Keep them safe...get the.." he closed his eyes for a moment his thoughts scrambled everywhere. He blindly reached for the safety belt release and stumbled from the car.

"Greg what happened?" Nell wrapped her arms around him and helped him towards the house.

Callen suddenly looked to the gates as if afraid.

"She's coming...Hide the children, keep them safe." he said his voice betraying the fear he felt.

"G, where are my children?"

Nell turned to him, "They are out the back playing with my son in the pool. They are fine."

"No...in danger, she's coming…" Callen pushed away from them and still stumbling, holding onto the doorframe as he went inside the house first with the others following. Walking to the picture on the wall he took down the painting of a large sailing ship, facing across the hallway from his father's painting of a tree. He dropped the picture not caring and dragged it into his father's study and turning it face down onto the desk.

Grabbing the letter opener on his desk he ripped into the picture. "What the hell?" Adam asked, "You can't do that...not with him here."

"It doesn't matter...not any more, gotta keep Sam, Michelle and the kids safe, that's all that matters. Keep the Agents and their families safe." Callen took the book and turning handed the book to Adam. "You need to leave now. Go to Rothman. He's at the boatshed. Give him your report. Give him the book."

"Greg?" Adam looked worried, "We were going to go in together, this is not the plan."

"It's too late. she knows. Your assignment is over Adam, go home to your family." He coughed as a muscle spasm racked through him again.

"Dammit Greg what happened?" Adam snapped.

"Hetty, Taser…" Callen pulled his shirt down and showed the two burn marks left by the taser's metal barbs.

"She's followed me I know it." He insisted looking out of the window.

Sam looked too, "I can't see anything." It was true he couldn't all he could see was an old man walking a small dog down the street outside the main gate.

Callen coughed again and turned to Adam. "She's right about one thing, my career is over. I can't go back in. I won't, but Rothman needs that book. It's a copy of the original. I'll be using that to get my family out of the country safely. We have to go to ground. Pack your stuff Adam, take what you need with you."

Adam nodded and turned to go. He stopped in front of Sam, "It is good to see you again." he said holding out his hand to shake.

Sam smiled, "It is good you're not dead. Try and stay that way ok."

Adam nodded, he pulled Nell into a hug, "Thank you for not letting him kill me." he said sincerely and ran up to his room to pack a bag.

* * *

Callen walked through Sam following him and grabbed a bottle of water from the kitchen. Downing it in one gulp he turned to Sam and Nell. "Sam...you need to take the kids and leave. Nikki and Nell too."

"No!" Nell exclaimed looking horrified at him.

G blinked back the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him. "Nell, my love...You and Nikki need to be safe. I need to know you are all safe all three of you."

Nell smiled slightly, "You know?" she asked.

Callen pulled her into his arms kissing her passionately, "Again, you are glowing my love. I need to know you and my children are safe."

Nell sobbed as he referred to both their son and the child she now carried within her.

"Sam...please, if you ever valued our partnership, I ask you now take my wife and son with you, keep them safe. It's not you Hetty wants….not yet."

"You kidnapped my children and want me to protect your wife and son?"

"Matthias Draeger has been following Michelle and the kids for a month. I didn't take them in revenge for you taking Nell and Nikita, I took them because Adam picked up chatter that he was planning on bombing one of the children's schools. I couldn't let that happen." Callen looked his ex-partner in the eye. "Please Sam, She's pregnant, don't leave them with me."

Nell's tears slid silently down her cheeks as she realized that he was as usual protecting her.

"Adam is heading to the boatshed with the copy of the book. I'm going to give you the original." He walked over to the freezer and pulled a book wrapped in plastic out of the depths inside it.

"Who keeps books in the freezer?" Sam asked amused.

"Doesn't everybody?" Callen replied and handed it to him. "Nell, get the kids dried and ready, pack a bag for you and Nikki."

Nell moved and headed to the pool to get Sam's kids and Nikki in.

"Sam please. If our friendship ever meant anything to you, if you ever trusted me in the past, trust me now. I only wanted what was best for your family. I was protecting them. Please Sam protect my wife and children like I did yours. Tell her I loved her."

Sam found himself stunned at the raw emotion in his partners voice.

"I will protect them with my life. But G you can take the book in, you can be the one to end this."

Callen gave a callous laugh, "Oh i will be."

 


	14. Chapter 14

Callen watched as Sam drove away with his wife and child, feeling like he had just had his heart ripped out.

Nikita put his hand on his son's shoulder. "Moy Syn?"

"Is this how you felt, when mama left with me and Ami?" he asked his hand over his heart trying to hold in the pain.

"It is." He said simply, "But it will not be long before you are reunited with them."

Callen gulped, "But what if…" He couldn't even voice it. The thought of his beloved Nell dying and him not even seeing his unborn child or son again, ripped at his very soul.

"Do not focus on the what if's Gregori, you need to end this. We need to end this, for you and for Clara." Nikita vowed.

Callen held up the book. "We need to make sure that Adam got the copy of the book to Agent Rothman."

Nikita nodded and they headed to the basement.

"We have a problem, I gave Adam the copy of the book, with the old names of the burned agents in." Sveta said as they walked into the bunker.

"So what's the problem?"

"Adam's car dropped off Kaleidoscope, I can't find him."

"Show me what you have." Callen asked.

Adam's car peeled out of the driveway and headed toward the boatshed, but going through a back way he disappeared.

"Why take that route?" Callen asked.

"Diversions." Sveta replied as she tapped to show the signs that had made Adam take the different route.

"Play the footage back from the time that sign was placed." Callen ordered his cousin while pointing at the sign.

An old man, dressed in a high visibility jacket coned off the road and placed the sign and walked to an old pickup truck...a very familiar pickup truck.

"Damn!" Callen patted Sveta on the shoulder and headed for the door, "Papa!" he called and Nikita confused turned to follow him.

"What?" He asked.

"I need you to take the book to the boatshed. Give it to Agent Rothman. Matthias has gone after Sam, Nell and the kids." Callen grabbed his gun and headed to his car.

"You are certain?" Nikita asked.

Callen nodded, "I saw the truck down the street when I came back with Sam, take the book, save the others." He winced as a wave of pain from the taser attack hit him again. "Trust Rothman." He said and he climbed into his car and drove off leaving Nikita with the book and his own errand to do.

* * *

Rothman sat at the main table, talking to Director Vance as Deeks and Kensi tried to get Eric to find Callen and Sam.

"There's still nothing...but guys, there is a car pulling up outside the boatshed, it's not Sam or Callen."

They watched as the man exited his car and knocked on the door of the boatshed.

"Hello? Is there anyone in? I have something for you." His Russian accent sounded out of place, but Rothman recognized him instantly.

"It's Reznikov!"

Kensi and Deeks drew their guns as Nikita typed in the passcode for the door and entered his hands raised.

"I know, I know...you want to arrest me. This is more important, arrest me later."

Kensi moved to frisk him, taking the gun from the waistband of his pants.

"Okey dokey, so, no niceties today." Nikita grumbled as he moved to the main table. "One of you is Agent Rothman, yes?" he asked.

Rothman moved closer, "You are Nikita Reznikov?"

Nikita nodded, "I am. I have the book you need, Adam was going to bring it, but he has gone missing. Gregori believes that Matthias Draeger and Hetty Lange have him."

"So, Callen has gone to save Dom?" Kensi asked.

Sadly Nikita shook his head, "I had a call from Svetlana, Adam's body has been found in a culvert. My son has gone to save Agent Hanna and his family, as well as his own family. We spotted the vehicle that Matthias was driving outside my home. We believe that he is following them."

"Dom's really dead this time?" Kensi sank into the seat next to Nikita.

"Are you alright Miss?" Nikita asked handing her a bottle of water that had just been handed to him.

Kensi took it and the handkerchief Nikita handed her, She nodded and took a drink. "Dom...Adam, was my first partner. It was hard when we first thought he had died."

"I know it was hard on him too, we didn't want to kidnap him, however when Gregori told him the truth about this book, he realized we were not the bad guys we had been painted and he agreed to go deep cover and help us."

Vance stood up and walked towards him, "Mr Reznikov, I am Director Vance of NCIS."

Nikita nodded, "Gregori's boss, he speaks highly of you."

Vance was surprised, but he managed to hide it, "He does? That is good to know. Do you know where Agent Hanna was planning on taking his family and Agent Callen's family?"

"I do not know, I know he left here and Svetlana has been watching his progress."

"Svetlana?"

"Gregori's cousin, she is our tech person...Gregori calls her and his wife the twins of evil, like your Eric, No?"

"Can Sveta be contacted?" Vance asked.

They jumped as a blonde Russian female appeared on the monitor, "Right here Bossman." She smiled as Eric's face worried appeared onscreen.

"Director we have an intrusion…." He typed frantically trying to stop her as Sveta looked towards him.

" Dyadya, on ochen' khorosho vyglyadit. Kak vy dumayete, on yedinyy?" she asked.

Nikita laughed, "She would like to know if your Beale is a single man."

Eric gulped and pushed his glasses up his nose, "I….I err, I…"

Deeks laughed and Kensi punched him in the shoulder. "Not now Beale," She admonished him.

"Svetlana, do you have eyes on our Nell, or Gregori?"

"Dyadya, You know if Gregori does not want to be found he will not, but Agent Hanna and Nell have been seen, I think they are heading to the Cabin that Gregori built at Falling Springs off Soldier Creek road."

"Falling springs?" Eric typed rapidly and Kensi and Deeks' phone dinged. "It's a ghost town."

Deeks grinned, "Can see why they would hide there, a lot of good cover."

Nikita laughed, "And knowing my son, the Cabin has more Arms than your Armoury at the mission."

"Agent Blye, Agent Deeks, go with Mr. Reznikov and help safely extract the Hanna and Callen family."

Nikita took the black book out of his jacket pocket, "This is for you Agent Rothman, the names highlighted are Agents still at risk of exposure. Agents, I do not want Henrietta Lange to get hold of and kill."

* * *

Callen screeched to a halt as the truck passed in front of him cutting him off.

"Damn!" he swore and turned the wheel.

Again the truck swerved and Callen compensated, but his tire blew and he flipped, rolling three times.

The last thing he saw before the darkness took him was the smiling face of Mattias Draeger as he walked towards the car.

 


	15. Chapter 15

He was surprised as he opened his eyes, more because he actually opened his eyes than anything else. He looked around the room his head, feeling disjointed and fuzzy, he tried to lift his hand to his head to see if he had a concussion. He realized his hands were tied.

He looked around as much as he could, his head seemed to be restrained, or maybe he thought with a moment of panic his whole body. He realized the only thing he could move were his eyes.

Matthias moved into his vision. "You have no idea what you've done do you?" he said slowly shaking his head, his German accent clipped.

"I haven't done anything, let me go!" Callen snapped trying to move.

"You are a dangerous man." Matthias walked up to him and undid the restraining strap from his head, "Did you mean what you told me, all those names, were they worth it?"

"I didn't give you any names."

"I know." Matthias turned him around and Callen nearly vomited. On the floor behind him were the bodies of his wife and his son, a slit in his wife's belly revealed the unformed hand of the fetus of a child stretching as if trying to escape from its mother's dying womb Next to them three more bodies, Michelle, Kamran and Aiden.

"NO!" Callen screamed as Matthias smiled, watching the younger man break. He looked at the same scene the mannequins placed with care had worked well, as was the drug coursing through the system of the man who already had a concussion.

"You did this, you wouldn't talk. We have your partner, your father and your old teammates, who is next?" Matthias asked as he walked around the 'bodies.'

Matthias had never liked the messier version of torture. He preferred the mental approach. Where others of his type would not balk at killing women and children, he did unless he absolutely had to. Besides, this was so much better.

He watched as the hardened agent sobbed with a smile.

"You could have avoided this you know. You can still save your father and your partner, just tell me the names in the book."

Callen shook his head, "No."

Matthias frowned, normally to save the rest of their family the person interrogated would break at this point.

"Kill me." Callen said, his eyes dull and his voice flat. "I'm never going to put them in danger."

"You have nothing left to lose." Matthias prodded.

Callen said nothing, he knew that if he talked those hidden agents, would be in danger as would their family, he would be risking everything his family had fought and died for. He would not let their sacrifices be in vain.

Matthias looked at the drugs available to him.

It was so cliche, and he was loathe to use it. But, he sighed to himself, needs must.

He took the syringe and injected the Sodium Pentothal into the man before him.

Again Callen's vision swam, for a moment the dead eyes of his wife turned into the lifeless eyes of a mannequin then back to her hazel orbs again.

He looked away, grateful as Matthias moved him back to face the opposite direction.

"Tell me the names?" Matthias asked again and Callen shook his head.

* * *

Sam looked furious as Hetty stood there with three Bundesnachrichtendienst agents who were rogue and working for Matthias. All holding guns on them.

"I never thought you would sell out Hetty." Sam snapped as Nell held Nikki and Kamran closer to her. Aiden was tied up glaring at the small woman.

"There are a great many things you don't know about my Mr. Hanna. One of those things is that I never sold out." Hetty said something in German and one of the men went to check the perimeter.

Sam smiled, "You're afraid of him aren't you. You know Callen's going to come and stop you."

Hetty smiled coldly and Sam's gut churned.

"Mr Callen is exactly where we want him, he'll be giving us what we need."

"There is no way that he'd ever give you that book or those names."

Hetty laughed and the sound chilled Sam to his bones. "When I left the room, he was screaming like a child. It won't be long before he gives up those names to me."

Nell looked up at the woman horrified, "What did you do to him?" she breathed the fear evident in her voice.

"Absolutely nothing my dear, everything that has happened to Mr. Callen he has done to himself and probably a lot more before he finishes. As you know our Mr. Callen had a troubled childhood, he's a ripe candidate for exploiting and Matthias is an expert in changing people's perception of things."

Sam looked at the woman who had for years been his mentor, how had he not seen it? The woman he admired was so cold, ruthless and calculating. A part of him still hoped that Callen was wrong, that this was all an elaborate undercover mission.

But Hetty was unmoved, "We have spent years trying to get our hands on that book, we are so close and you will not stop us Mr. Hanna."

"Hetty, you are better than this, G looked up to you, like a mother." He said trying to get on her good side.

"For a while I was." She revealed, "I had hoped then that we would lure his father out, and that we would get the book then, or that he could be molded like Hunter and Sullivan to infiltrate and find out information. He was our biggest gamble and we failed. He knew who he was all the time, he lied to me." Hetty turned her attention to the larger man as she moved to open a nearby window. "He is now paying for those lies."

The wind changed and Callen's screams could be heard on the wind.

"NO! Hetty, you need to stop this!" Sam begged.

Hetty smiled, "Like I said I am doing nothing to him. But I will allow you to see him soon enough."

Nell sobbed as they heard Callen's screams, holding her hands over her son's ears so he couldn't hear.

Nikki looked confused, but he didn't move, his mommy was scared and he didn't like it when she was sad or scared so he sat quietly holding his arms as far around her as he could reach.

Finally, Matthias walked into the cabin, he looked with smug satisfaction at the others as he turned to Hetty.

"Herta, I have the information we need."

Nell shook her head, "You're lying, Greg would never give them up!"

"I am feeling generous, Agent Hanna you may go and see your partner." Matthias said and ordered one of the guards to go with him, "With any luck he'll still be alive." He grinned.

Sam glowered at the man and stormed off to where the screams had come from.

* * *

He stood as the man unlocked the door, "You have five minutes." He said in his clipped German accent.

Sam opened the door and was shocked at what he saw.

Callen sat on the floor on a thin mattress, a circle of light from a hole in the ceiling, his only illumination. Even though Callen was banged up and looked awful it was not this that shocked him. It was the fact Callen was holding a gun.

"G?" Sam said, stepping over the mannequins carefully noting that Callen hadn't taken his eyes off them.

"I'm sorry Sam." Callen croaked out, his voice hoarse. "I couldn't save them."

He took the bullet he had held in his other hand and loaded the gun. "I tried and I couldn't save them."

He took the safety off the gun and Sam raised his hands. "Hey, G, it's ok."

Callen stood up shakily and paced, never once taking his eyes off the 'bodies' on the floor, " ** _WHAT EXACTLY ABOUT THIS IS OK!"_** He yelled. He pointed to them, "Can't you see them Sam?"

"I see them." Sam replied.

"You don't care?" Callen stopped and turned his unfocused eyes on Sam. "You're not Sam, are you? Who are you? What have you done with him? Have you killed him too?"

"G, it's me." Sam reaffirmed him.

"That's your wife, Your son, your daughter, my...my wife, my son, my...my b... baby…"

"No G. It's not real, it's a trick." Sam stepped closer, his hand closing around the gun. "G... They played you." Sam wrapped an arm around his sagging partner as Callen stumbled. "But… Nell?"

Sam turned him away, "Mannequins G." He noticed needle marks in his arms, "They drugged you."

Callen collapsed and Sam helped him down gently, "I told them Sam, I told them…" Then Callen giggled. Sam smirked filing that information away for later. "I lied Sam, I'm better at that than they are."

"Good work G." Sam patted his shoulder.

"Greg, my name is Greg." Callen gave a lopsided grin, "I got kids Sam did you know?"

Sam smiled, "Yes Greg, yes you do, and a spitfire of a redhead for a wife."

For a moment the grin slipped from Callen's face, "You sure they aren't dead?" He asked, his eyes straying to the 'bodies' again.

Sam turned his head, "I know you trust me Greg, trust me now, Nell,Nikki, Kam and Aiden are all alive." Sam wanted to say safe but he wasn't going to lie to his partner now.

The door opened and the man poked his head back in, "You, time to leave."

Greg winked at Sam and Sam gave a curt nod and left.

* * *

Turning his back to the gruesome scene in front of him, he smiled as Sam left, the gun hidden on him. He knew Matthias had hoped he would kill himself, to be honest before Sam had walked in he had considered it.

Matthias hadn't counted on how strong the bond between Callen and Sam was, the trust that even after all that had happened between them, was stronger than anything they could do to him.

Callen trusted Sam to save them all.

It was only one bullet, but he knew Sam would make it count.


	16. Chapter 16

Kensi, Deeks, Rothman and Reznikov arrived at the road leading to the cabin.

"Pull over here." Nikita said as he noticed the chain dropped by the roadside.

"What's wrong?" Rothman asked.

"We always keep that closed, unless something is wrong. I think that maybe The woman and Draeger are there already." He pulled his gun from his waistband and checked it. "We need to walk from here."

It was a fifteen minute walk, all uphill to the cabin. As they got closer Nikita felt worse, there were too many cars there. He stopped at the edge of the tree line as the door to the barn opened and Sam walked out. Kensi put a hand on Deeks shoulder as he was about to call in greeting as another man with an automatic rifle guided him back to the house.

"You're right," She affirmed, "I don't know him."

"Draeger's men no doubt. Possibly, Bundesnachrichtendienst." Rothman said.

"Bless you." Deeks snapped out.

Rothman just raised an eyebrow, "German secret service." He told the young man.

"Oh."

"Kensi, Deeks, Check out the perimeter and let me know what you see." Rothman ordered. The two younger agents nodded and headed off.

* * *

"I do not like this." Nikita said, "It makes me nervous."

"You didn't have to come."Rothman said. "You handed Vance the book, you could have gone back into hiding."

Nikita smiled, "This is my family, I will not fail them again. If I remember rightly you were not tasked with this mission either?"

Rothman sighed, "I know, but you decided to go. You know I still have to arrest you when we are done." The CIA agent said.

"As soon as my family is safe I will go with you willingly. I do this for my son, for my Clara."

Rothman smiled sadly, "I knew Clara Callen, she was a good woman. Your son had a reputation of being a fine agent."

"He was, he still could be. He loved his work Agent Rothman, If I come with you and co-operate, I want your assurance no charges will be filed against my son."

Rothman looked at the older man, "Very well, I will try my best. I cannot promise anything but I will talk to my superiors."

Nikita nodded as Kensi and Deeks came back.

* * *

"We found everyone but Callen. They are all in the main cabin, they look unhurt, but the woman, Nell; she looked terrified." Kensi said the worry in her voice evident.

"We have three heavies, armed with automatics and I assume that Hetty and Matthias have some sort of weapon. But Sam's kids and Callen's son are in there, we don't want to go in all guns blazing. Maybe, if we wait, we can pick them off one by one."

Rothman nodded, "Good idea."

They stopped as the door opened and a man walked towards the barn.

"Greg must be in there." Nikita guessed, "We can get this man, then the next one who comes."

The others agreed and headed stealthily to the barn.

Kensi and Deeks got there first and drew their guns as they heard fighting from inside the barn. Kensi gave Deeks the go ahead as he pulled the door open. "NCIS DROP YOUR WEAPON." They called out.

"It's ok guys, he's down." Callen called as he swayed a little. He smirked at his ex-coworkers and sat heavily on the chair he had been tied to earlier.

Rothman and Nikita followed them inside.

"Gregori?" Nikita called.

"Papa, I'm fine." He smiled lopsidedly. "He's not." He said with a small giggle as he pointed to the unconscious man on the floor.

Kensi and Deeks looked at each other amused at Callen's behavior.

"I love you guys." Callen said, "I'm sorry I lied to you guys, had to save the others."

"It's ok Callen." Kensi said, looking him over, "What did they give you?"

Callen shrugged, "Stuff, I think. It's scary stuff Kens. I...I saw stuff, bad stuff." he shuddered as he thought about it. Turning away, he started mumbling to himself, "It's not real, Sam said, it's not real." Over and over again, he said it until Nikita put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sam's right Papa, isn't he?" He pointed a shaky hand to the mannequins on the floor, "Tell me, that's not them?" He looked to his father, his eyes pleading.

"Just Manekeni moy syn, nothing more." He walked up to his son and held him tight.

Kensi teared up for a moment, looking at the closeness between father and son, something she had wanted for her friend for a long time.

"So, my Nell, Nikki, they are safe?" Callen asked.

"We saw them, they are in the house with Sam." Deeks said.

"We need to take out more of Matthias' men." Callen stood and swayed on the spot.

"Wait moy syn, more will come here soon, looking for this one, we need to even the odds, after all the others are not armed." Nikita cautioned.

Callen smiled, "Not exactly, I gave Sam the gun that Matthias gave me, it only has one bullet, but I know Sam will make it count."

"Matthias gave you a gun?" Nikita asked, horrified at the implication, that information, coupled with his son's behavior gave Nikita an idea of what had been done to his son. "He wanted you to kill yourself, didn't he?"

Callen nodded, not even noticing the horrified look on the faces of the others, "I still haven't... Maybe I'll do it later…" He added absent-mindedly.

Rothman and Nikita looked at each other understanding, "Scopolamine." Rothman mouthed and Nikita nodded, they knew they would have to keep a closer eye on Callen until the drug cleared his system.

Callen grabbed the gun from the man on the floor, "Come on, we'll get them."

Nikita took the gun off him, "Not yet son, besides you shouldn't have this right now."

Kensi didn't like the way Callen was staring at the gun, "It's too big?" he mumbled and started taking the barn apart looking for a weapon, the only place he avoided was the pile of Mannequins on the floor.

Eventually he swung around with a piece of pipe he'd found in a back corner, Deeks ducked as it sailed just over his head.

"Hey!" He hissed as they heard a voice from outside. "Dedrick, are you in there, you haven't killed him have you, you know he needs to do it by himself."

"Soon." Callen breathed as the door opened.

* * *

"Matthias wants to know what is taking you so long?" The man asked as he entered, waiting for his eyes to become adjusted to the darkness.

As his eyes did so his face turned from one of contempt to horror as his eyes focused on the guns aimed at him. He dropped his weapon. "Who are you."

"NCIS, CIA, his father." Came multiple replies. The last one made the man, pale, "You're Reznikov…" His voice shook and he took a step back, "You weren't supposed to be here."

Nikita smiled coldly, "Surprise." He said sarcastically as he nodded to Kensi to tie the man up.

"You won't get away with this." The man snapped.

"I think we already have." Deeks said.

"We will see, this isn't a television show, the good guys do not always win." The man gloated, then groaned as Callen hit him around the head and he dropped to the ground.

"He was giving me a headache." He grumbled, walking towards the drugs on the table, "Any of these a painkiller?" He asked, picking up the Scopolamine that Draeger had used earlier, "He said this was…" He started to measure himself out some.

"No, no son, not that." Nikita said and Rothman took the drug from his hands.

"We will find you something soon." Rothman promised and he looked through the plethora of drugs Matthias had used on the man.

Callen nodded and groaned, "Good, my head hurts, gotta do something…?" He gently shook his head trying to remember what he had forgotten.

"This tips the odds in our favor," Deeks said, "We should head to the house."

The others agreed and they checked their weapons for the confrontation that was to come.

Callen looked through the small window that faced the house, noticing his target inside he smiled to himself, "Soon…" he said softly as the others checked their weapons.


	17. Chapter 17

Matthias looked over concerned at Hetty, "Dedrick and Klaus haven't come back yet. I am concerned." He said.

Hetty nodded to the last guard, "Watch Mr. Hanna." She said as she walked over to Nell and the children.

Nell looked up at the other woman and her eyes widened in fear as she looked at her face. She had seen true evil a few times in her life and had hoped never to see it again. However now she was looking at it.

"Give me the boy." Hetty said, looking at Nikki.

"NO!" Nell moved herself between Hetty and her son, even though she was concerned for her unborn child there was no way she was letting this woman get her hands on her son.

With a speed that belied her size Hetty slapped Nell and she fell to the ground with a gasp her hand flying to her stomach to protect the unborn child inside. Hetty noticed the move and smiled.

"I will be taking your son, be grateful woman that I leave you the child inside your womb. The Callens took a lot from me and my family over the years, I will make sure the list is worth something and if… _if_ it is, I will leave the child somewhere, possibly alive, although to be honest the thought of another Callen child walking the earth sickens me."

"If you hate Gregori so much, why did you take him in as a child?" Nell gasped keeping her eyes on Hetty who hadn't moved closer to Nikki yet.

"It's easier to break a child when you have him 24/7," Hetty smiled as she moved closer and clasped her hand around his wrist, "You'll see what I mean when I've finished with this one." Nikki whimpered as Hetty pulled him away from his mother.

"Leave him alone!" Sam shouted, he grunted as he was hit with the butt of the gun held by the last man guarding them. "Callen will hunt you down and kill you." Sam snarled, "And I'll be right behind him."

"I very much doubt that Mr. Hanna, you'll find the dead do not run very fast."

Sam looked shocked the woman he had come to admire, "How can you do this, I looked up to you, what about honor and loyalty?"

"I have honor to my country, and loyalty to my family is what started this." Hetty said.

"You'd allow innocent Agents to die?" Sam said, his eyes flicking quickly to the window where he noticed the others heading to the house.

"None of them are innocent, they framed my family, The Reznikov's and The Callen's are responsible for this and they've conned you into thinking they are the good guys. I tried to make amends, but that boy, he was too much like his mother. He forced me don't you see it was _his_ fault." Hetty said.

"What was his fault?" Sam asked, the longer he kept her talking the less chance she had of taking the boy.

"He was too headstrong, like her, Clara. He wouldn't listen to reason, it was never shades of gray with him, it was just right and wrong. I tried everything…" Hetty sighed, "Maybe with this one I'll do better."

Matthias turned as if he had only just realized what she planned to do.

"You are not taking the boy." He stated, "If he belongs to anyone he belongs to our government. The plan was always, if we could not turn Callen we could use his offspring trained to the cause."

"He is mine, the blood feud demands I have him."

"Actually, he's _mine_ and he'll stay with his mother and me." Callen said as he leaned against the doorway.

Nikki pulled his hand out of Hetty's and ran to his mother.

Matthias, Hetty and the last man guarding them turned their guns on Callen.

"You only have one bullet in there boy, you can't kill all three of us."

Callen turned the gun in his hand as if evaluating the suggestion. "Maybe you're right…"

Matthias smiled, "Of course I am, you know you only have two options."

"... Or at least you would be right. _If,_ this were the gun _you_ had given me earlier." Callen finished with a smirk.

Matthias looked at Callen and raised his own gun, "Where is the gun I gave you?"

Callen smirked as if he had no care in the world as a shot rang out.

"In the safest hands in the room." He said as Matthias dropped to the floor, the other two looking at the smoking gun in Sam's hands.

The guard, realizing he was outnumbered dropped his gun and stepped away as the others came through the rear door.

"NO!" Hetty screeched, "You will not win, I will be avenged!" she grabbed Nikki and held a gun to his head backing up to the only door not covered.

Nikki wriggled and yelped as the barrel of a small derringer pushed into his temple.

* * *

Sam stood, taking a step out of Hetty's sightline.

"Move back Mr. Hanna I have no qualms about allowing another Callen's brains to be spread again. After all, I ordered the hit on the last one." Hetty said her voice cold.

Kamran and Aiden looked at each other realizing the youngest child was in danger and they, as children were being ignored.

Aiden whispered to Kamran and they snaked along the floor behind the older woman, Aiden lying behind her legs and Kamran slipping around the front to pull Nikki's legs out from under him.

As he fell Aiden reached out his arms to protect the child's head as he fell, Hetty gave a small gasp of surprised as she fell backwards over Aiden's legs.

Nell grabbed Nikki and the children and ran from the room determined to protect them at all costs.

"No!" Hetty snapped at being thwarted, "No… you will never defeat me, I am…" She started as she stood up to find Callen pointing a gun at her head. "Mr. Callen, you can't kill me, I'm the nearest thing you have to a mother."

Callen smiled coldly, an order running through his veins stronger than anything, and hell, he wanted to comply.

"Bye mom." He said flatly as he pulled the trigger and she fell down dead.

"G?" Sam looked shocked that his partner could be so cold, then he noticed what he was doing, "G! NO!" He and Rothman launched across the room to tackle him as Callen turned the gun on himself.

"I… Have… To…" Callen breathed before his whole world went black.

* * *

Sam looked over the unconscious body of his friend as he kicked the gun away from his hand.

"I thought he had gotten over it, I told him it wasn't his family?" Sam knelt by Callen gently running his hand over his partners head, hoping that when he had tackled him he hadn't hurt him too bad.

"Scopolamine." Rothman said, "That and Sodium Pentothal, He was going to follow his programming to completion if we hadn't stopped him."

"He needs to see a doctor," Sam said.

Nikita looked over at Rothman, "Please let me go with him, I will keep my word I just need to know he's safe."

Rothman nodded and turned to tell Deeks to call an ambulance to find that he had already done so.

Callen woke up in a hospital room, he saw Sam and grinned, "I been shot again?" He asked.

Sam smiled back in relief, "Not this time G, this is all me. You ran into a wall of Hanna."

A frown crossed Callen's face, "You hit me?"

"Saving you from yourself Partner. Always got your back."

Callen blanched as the door opened and Nikki ran in accompanied by Nell.

"Daddy!" Nikki climbed on the bed.

"It's ok, they're safe G." Sam reassured him.

"You know?" He asked, his mind confused.

"What? That you have a name and a family and are the sneakiest agent I know." Sam grinned.

"Sneakiest?" Callen couldn't help but grin. "I would have thought you'd have come up with something like G.O.A.T."

"Goat?" Nell asked.

"Greatest Of All Time." Callen and Sam said in unison.

Nell laughed and walked over and kissed G.

"So Greg?" Sam said with a smile, happy for his friend.

Callen nodded, "It was safer that you didn't know, you won't hold it against me?" He asked, knowing he should have had this conversation with his partner years ago.

Sam shrugged, "I understand G, after all it wasn't till you were shot I told you about Michelle and the kids."

"This is a little bit bigger, but there were lives at stake…" G stopped, realizing something, "Did Adam get the book to Vance?" He asked turning to Nell.

She looked at him sadly, "He never made it my Callen, but Papa took the book to the CIA Agent."

Callen sat up quickly and pulled the IV out of his arm, "But…"

He stopped as the door opened.

* * *

"I am well, my son, do not worry." Nikita said as he entered the room with Agent Rothman.

"Agent Callen, it is good to see the drug is out of your system." Rothman said.

"Drug? What happened?" Callen suddenly had a flashback, "Hetty? Draeger?"

Nikita walked over and put a hand on Callen's arm.

"They are gone Moy Syn, the book and the Agents are all safe." He told him. "You were drugged and…"

"... And Hetty tried to take my son, I killed her." Callen said flatly.

"Yes, you did." Agent Rothman said, "It was a good kill, don't worry, you will not be investigated for that."

Nikita nodded approvingly, "That is good, now rest moy syn, I have to leave for a while, but we will talk later." He said sadly looking at his son and his daughter in law and Grandson for what he thought might be the last time.

"Actually, I have talked to my superiors, all warrants out for you and your son have been cancelled. This country owes your family a debt Mr. Reznikov, you both saved a lot of lives."

"And Adam Craig, he was an exceptional Agent, his family deserves to know." Callen said as Nell nodded in agreement.

"I have put his name forward for a Presidential Medal of Honor." Rothman informed them. "All his benefits have been reinstated and will go to his family as next of kin."

The door knocked and Director Vance entered, "Would you all mind giving me the room please?" He asked, smiling kindly at Nell so she knew he wasn't a threat.

She kissed Callen fiercely, "We will be just outside the door." She said, turning to Vance, "Hurt him and I'll make sure you never get credit anywhere again." She warned.

"Actually, Mrs... Callen? Reznikov? I'd like you to stay too if that would be alright?"

She nodded, handing a sleepy Nikki over to his grandfather.

"I will be right outside." He reassured her.

They waited as the others left.

* * *

"Director?" Callen said, breaking the silence.

"I take it Agent Rothman told you all the charges have been dropped." Vance said.

Callen nodded, "But I'm still fired, right?" He asked.

"On the contrary, I'm here to ask if you would consider coming back, I know the CIA were planning on asking you but I have a counter offer."

"They haven't asked me yet." Callen said.

"Well, when they do consider this. We have an opening for a technical Analyst we were wondering if your wife would like to join you at the Los Angeles office in that role."

"If I go back, it would be my old job right? I don't want her job." He said flatly.

Vance nodded, "I was going to offer it to Ms Hunter, but after what you told me about her conditioning, she volunteered to go with a deprogrammer and then go through basic retraining. We have an ex-CIA Agent, Owen Granger, who has agreed to take on the position of Operations Manager."

Callen grimaced, "Urgh. Granger." He sighed.

"Something I need to know?" Vance asked instantly worried.

Callen shook his head, "Granger worked with my mother back in the day, apparently both she and I never saw completely eye to eye, but he his a good and loyal man. Probably your best choice for the job."

"Could you work with him?" Vance asked.

Callen thought for a moment, he had worked with Granger once or twice while he had been in the CIA, there had been personality clashes, but he had meant what he had said, Granger was a loyal and honest man. "I could." He replied.

Vance smiled and nodded, "Good, good, then my last question would be how would you both like to be addressed at work. I know that A few agents have false identities they live by outside of work, but I think that maybe you could keep your real persona for home and…"

"G. Callen is not a false identity, it is legally who I am, Gregori Reznikov is my birth name I just didn't know till I was fifteen. If anything G. Callen was just another cover."

Nell smiled, "I do not care what they call you, you will always be my Callen."

"So Agent G. Callen, for work then?" Vance smiled. "And you Mrs….?"

"Mrs. Callen." Nell supplied.

"It may get complicated at work." Vance said.

"I was Nell Jones before I got married." She offered.

"Ms Jones for work then, that is if you will take the job?"

"I would like to, however, I am pregnant, will that make a difference."

Vance laughed, "Not at all, I hear you can work just as well from home, Our technical operator Eric Beale was given a tour by a woman of the name, Svetlana?"

"My cousin." Callen informed him.

"He was quite taken with her, and your operations bunker."

"They have a date tonight." Nell informed both men.

Vance smiled and Callen chuckled, "Poor boy, Sveta will eat him alive."

Vance reached into his pocket and pulled out Callen's badge.

"Welcome Home Agent Callen."


End file.
